What I Wish For
by iyoku-ishi
Summary: Vincent is starting school at AVALANCHE University. It's not your normal school year either, with deaths, Shinra, and broken hearts. What was meant to be a loved relationship drastically turns into an event that can never be forgotten...VinTif.
1. AVALANCHE University

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII. I _do_ own anything else that cannot be identified as belonging to FFVII, anything related to FFVII, or anything that's copyrighted (such as…I dunno, Coke). FFVII and anything related to it is copyrighted to their owners (Squaresoft, Sony), as is anything that's copyrighted already. Anything else (such as Ocs, the plot, and the lyrics to the songs, restaurants, and other things) is _copyrighted_ to _me_ (so no stealing). Etc., ect…

Hey everyone, this is the first, only FFVII fanfiction I'm writing. My other long fanfiction is Inuyasha/FFVII, so not FFVII only, but this one is. By the way, this is a way more centered Vincent fic than Intricate (my Inuyasha/FFVII). As I've said in the summary, it's a VinTif. Now, I've decided that I still support VinTifs. I don't support Yuffietines anymore. Cause…Yuffie's just way too young, in my opinion. And I don't really support opposite personality parings. I'm guessing that this fanfiction will be at least 33 chapters long (maybe more, if I get more ideas), and I'll try to make the chapters longer as the story progresses. I might not update this too quickly because I've also got Intricate to update, so yeah. Remember to read Intricate!

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Chapter 1 - AVALANCHE University

Vincent frowned slightly. He was a teenager with long, glossy, smooth, black hair that hung down halfway down his back. Long bangs fell down over his face, constantly covering one of his pallid, light-red eyes. He had pale skin that was unblemished and he wasn't one of those big, loud, muscled guys. Vincent wore a black T-shirt with a skull splashed across the middle, and wore long, black, baggy jeans that were tucked into heavy, black, shiny, leather (not real leather) boots (sort of like hiking boots). In short terms, Vincent was a very good looking guy.

Vincent had just received his letter with his schedule from the AVALANCHE University, in Midgar. There were only three more days until school started. He had been waiting _ages_ for his letter, and today, it finally came. The telephone rang. Vincent picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked, still scanning his letter.

"Hey Vincent," came Reno's voice.

"Oh, hello Reno," Vincent said, still frowning. There were two beeps, and two other people's voices entered the conversation.

"Hi Vincent!" Elena said enthusiastically.

"Hi Vincent," Rude said normally. Vincent greeted them both absentmindedly.

"So, who's your roommate?" Reno asked. Vincent sighed.

"Guess who…" he said sarcastically.

"Not Strife?" Reno said.

"Yes," Vincent replied, looking at the name in annoyance.

"Aw, poor Vincent!" Elena said sadly. "Oh well. Stupid school. I got _Yuffie_."

"The annoying brat?" Rude asked her. Elena made a noise of agreement.

"Doesn't that suck hell?" Reno said, sighing. "You both are stuck with the losers from high school."

"At least we didn't get Reeve," Rude commented.

"Nerd-boy?" Elena questioned. "Oh, that would be horrible."

"So, what about you guys?" Vincent asked. "Reno? Rude?"

"We're roommates," Rude answered.

"Yup," Reno said cheerfully. "Great, huh?"

"Lucky." Elena sighed wistfully. "Well, what classes do all of you have?"

"Well, AU (AVALANCHE University) first years are required to take literature and sociology, so…apart from that, I have art and music," Vincent said.

"Into the artistic stuff, eh?" Reno said. "Well, I have mechanics and martial arts."

"PE and music," Rude replied. "You, Elena?"

"Um, clothes design and martial arts," she offered.

"What time and teacher for martial arts?" Reno questioned.

"Erm…3:15 pm and Master Zangan."

"Alright!" Reno cheered. "We're in the same class!" He paused for a moment. "Wait, what days?"

"Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays," Elena said. Reno grinned at the other end of the line.

"Great!"

"Elena?" Vincent said suddenly. "Would you like to go see a movie, say, next Saturday?"

"Oh! I would love to! We haven't gone out for such a long time…"

"Only about two weeks," Reno snorted. Elena huffed.

"You two act so immature," Rude told them. Reno blew a raspberry.

"Yeah, whatever."

"I agree with Rude," Vincent commented.

"Aww, Vincent, come on!" Elena giggled.

"What dorm section are you guys in?" Reno asked.

"I'm in the Bahmut dorm," Vincent replied.

"I'm in the Leviathan dorm," Elena answered

"Well, Reno and I are in the Phoenix dorm. We're going to move into the dorm tomorrow," Rude told Elena and Vincent.

"Yes, I will too," Vincent said.

"Ditto!" Elena said cheerfully.

"Hope we don't bump into that loser Strife and his pimp friends," Reno muttered. "Though, Tifa _does_ have a nice bust…"

"RENO!" Elena screeched. All the guys winced.

"My eardrums have officially died," Rude sighed. "I really don't know how you can stand her, Vincent."

"Hey!" Elena butted in indignantly.

"She's…different when she's with me," Vincent told Rude.

"What? So you have charm and we don't?" Reno asked, also indignant.

"Well, I don't comment on women's…busts," Vincent said.

"Yeah!" Elena agreed.

"What about Rude?" Reno questioned.

"Um, I'm right here you know," Rude told him.

"Hm…Rude's good looking, but Vincent's hotter," Elena said.

"What about me?" Reno grumbled. Elena tutted.

"I'm not answering that," the blonde decided. Reno made a disgruntled sound, then sighed.

"I shouldn't ask you. After all, Vincent _is_ your boyfriend."

"Mmmhmm…" Elena said dreamily.

"My aunt is calling me to dinner," Vincent said suddenly. "Bye."

"See ya," the others answered. They continued arguing with each other long after Vincent hung up.

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Cloud got out of the taxi and hauled his luggage up the stairs to the front doors of the university's main building that lead off to the dorms. He was a teenager with blonde, crazily spiked hair that slightly resembled a chocobo's feathers. The boy had bright, intense blue eyes and wore a little, white earring in his left ear. Cloud wore a white T-shirt with the letters "ROFLMAO" on it, and had dark-blue, baggy jeans. He also wore brown boots. Cloud was one of those types that had quite a lot of muscle, yet didn't look too big or fat. He spotted a brown-haired figure also carrying her luggage up the steps.

"Hey!" Cloud called. The figure stopped and looked around. Cloud walked up to her. "Hello, my beautiful doll," he said, flashing her a handsome smile.

"Hi Cloud," Aeris said, smiling back at him. Aeris was a cheerful girl that usually had her long, wavy, brown hair tied back with a smooth, white ribbon in an elegant twist that went down her back to her waist. She had bright, green eyes that always seemed to be filled with emotion. Aeris wore a pink, spaghetti-strap tank top and a white, jean skirt with brown sandals. The girl would usually wear a very short, red, jean jacket with metal cuffs, but she didn't wear that today because of the burning hot sun beating on everyone overhead. "Tons of luggage?"

"My mom made me bring one more suitcase," the blonde groaned.

"An extra suitcase would be nothing to you, since you always boast about how strong you are," a voice said from behind Aeris and Cloud. They turned around and saw Tifa hurrying up towards them. "Hi Aeris!" Tifa was a usually optimistic girl, though she had quite a lot of down times. She had long, brown hair that was tied at the very bottom. Tifa had warm, brown eyes, and wore a short, white tank top that exposed her midriff. She also wore a black mini-skirt and white sneakers.

"Hi Tifa!" Aeris and Tifa exchanged hugs. Cloud pouted.

"What about me?" he asked, pretending to sulk. Tifa smiled.

"Hi Cloud! It's wonderful to see you."

"You too. What? No hug for your handsome boyfriend?" Tifa giggled and hugged the blonde.

"There you go, you baby," she teased. Aeris smiled at the pair's antics. Of course, she thought that Cloud was cute and good looking, but she didn't have any real feelings for him like that.

"Come on lovebirds," the girl chided. "Let's get to our dorms." The threesome trudged into the building. They turned right and walked through a hall, out the door at the end. The trio entered a huge courtyard with a large building making up one side of it. The building was the girls' dormitories. They went in.

"Right, so what number was your room again?" Cloud asked as they rode the elevator up to the second floor.

"204," Aeris answered. Tifa nodded.

"Um…that's 207...206...205...204! Here we are," she said, stopping in front of a door that was labeled "204". Aeris produced her key and unlocked the door. Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris went in.

"Hey, it's not too bad," Cloud observed. The room was fairly large, with two beds at either side. A small bathroom was at the left side of the room, while a refrigerator, coffee maker, and microwave was at the right. A small closet room was also located on the left side. There were a few other things in the room, including two desks.

"Hm…it's okay," Aeris decided as she put her bags down, next to the right bed. Tifa sat down on the left bed.

"Yeah, it's fine," she commented. The walls were a beautiful beige color, and the carpet was dark green. The beds were dark brown with two plump, white pillows each. The girls lounged around for a while.

"Come on, let's go to the guys' dormitory now!" Cloud said impatiently.

"What's your room number?" Tifa asked as the friends left the building, headed through the main building, through another courtyard, and into the guys' dormitory building.

"307," Cloud said promptly.

"There are only 3 stories, right?" Aeris asked. Both Cloud and Tifa nodded.

"Here," said Cloud, unlocking room 307 and entering it, with his friends following. The room was pretty much the same as the girls', except that the colors were different. The walls were a kind of light, washout, grey-blue color. The carpet was light grey and the beds were dark blue. Cloud collapsed on the left bed.

"Mmm…nice," Tifa commented. Aeris nodded her agreement, and both girls joined Cloud on the bed.

"Well, as least we know that the rooms are nice," Aeris said. "Who's your roommate, anyway?" Cloud sat up and blinked.

"Dunno, I didn't check. Can't believe that I forgot about that." He took the folded letter out of his pocket and opened it. Cloud scanned the sheet. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the page. "No…way…" he said hoarsely. Tifa frowned.

"Who is it?" she asked impatiently. "Come on, spill."

"It's…" Cloud took a breath. "It's…" The door suddenly burst open and four people entered, talking. They stopped and stared at Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa. Cloud pointed to Vincent. "Him." Tifa gasped. Aeris' eyes widened.

"Well well, if it isn't looser Strife and his pimp girlfriends," one of the people sneered. He was a guy with flaming-red hair that was tied back in a messy, yet cool-looking ponytail. The boy had deep, green eyes that were darker than Aeris', and he had a small earring dangling from his left ear. The redhead wore a dark-green, collared shirt and saggy, baggy, dark-brown pants. He also wore brown boots, and had his sunglasses pushed up against his forehead. Cloud scowled.

"Go and shove your head in the toilet. You might find it nice there," he spat. Vincent glanced at Cloud and the redhead, who was Reno. He walked over to the other bed and dumped his things on it.

"I really pity you Vincent," Reno said in a loud voice. "Having to sleep in the same room with chocobo-head here. But who knows? Maybe you can teach him how to tie his shoe laces before he trips over them."

"Shut up Terrace!" Cloud snarled, glaring at Reno and Vincent. "It's not like I want you here," he directed at Vincent.

"And you think that I do?" Vincent asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, back off of Vincent!" one of the others yelled. She was a girl with very short, blonde hair and dark-blue eyes. Elena wore an orange tank-top with a glittering, white kitten on it. She also wore a cream-colored miniskirt with a huge, white belt and white, strapped high-heels.

"Why don't you tell your friends to back off my boyfriend!" Tifa returned fiercely. Reno smirked at Cloud.

"I see you don't have any friends that are male. What, you not macho enough? Or maybe you're a cross dresser." With that comment, Cloud leapt up, spluttering with rage.

"WHY YOU $!" Tifa and Aeris sprang up to restrain him.

"Tut tut, bad boy," Reno said sneeringly, waving a finger at Cloud.

"Go crap yourself," Tifa said furiously to the redhead. "At least we're not stupid like you." Reno smiled.

"I'm not stupid. You don't have to be nerd-boy to not be stupid."

"You mean Reeve, don't you?" Aeris asked quietly.

"Yeah. Stinker gets straight As," Reno snorted.

"Well, _Valentine_ does too," Cloud hissed. Vincent narrowed his eyes at the blonde. Elena looked outraged.

"He doesn't go around spouting nerd-talk," Reno said. "Nerd-boy goes around talking about stuff like…" Here, Reno imitated a reedy, annoying voice. "I can calculate the tagnent of a ratio of 392 using a radital of sins in trigno-what sits."

"It's the _tangent_ of a ratio of 392 using a _radical_ of _sines_ in _trigonometr_y," Aeris corrected, frowning.

"Oh look, another nerd," Elena said, leering.

"Nah…she's actually pretty hot, whereas nerd-boy's the ugliest guy in the world," Reno observed, smiling.

"Shut up!" Aeris snapped, temper flaring.

"Get your dirty eyes off my friend," Tifa said in a cold, calm voice. Elena blinked. The other friend of Reno, Vincent, and Elena's looked at his feet silently. Rude was bald, and wore dark sunglasses constantly. He had on a white and faint-blue striped blouse, with dark-brown trousers and black shoes.

"Well, sticking up for your friend, huh?" Reno asked, shifting his gaze to her. "You're not so bad yourself, with that rather nice b-"

"Enough!" Vincent cut in. He looked at Reno. "Strife is going to be my roommate for the rest of the year, whether I like it or not, so I don't wish to start off the year with more hostility than normal." Reno blinked for a moment…then shrugged and left.

"Meet ya outside then," he said. Rude let out a relieved sigh and exited. Elena turned to smile at Vincent.

"Come on Vincent," she said. Vincent walked towards the door. "Aren't you gonna take your stuff with you?" Elena asked, looking confused. "I mean, you wouldn't want _them_ doing anything, right?" She looked at Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris. Vincent glanced at his bags for a moment, but shrugged and pushed Elena gently out of the room. The door slammed shut.

"Those bastards…" Cloud breathed. "I feel like ransacking that jerk Valentine's stuff right now…"

"Don't," Aeris said. "He trusted that we wouldn't."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed. "We'd be no better than Reno if we did." Cloud glared at the bags for another moment…then sat down and sighed.

"Fine."

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"Hurry up!" Aeris yelled. "We're going to be late!" Tifa rushed out of the bathroom after doing the finishing touches of her makeup. It was the first day of school. Aeris and Tifa had Sociology at 10:00 am in the morning. It was currently 9:52. The two girls pounded across the campus and burst into the classroom at 9:58. They picked spots near the front. A pretty girl sat in the front row, a desk away, to Tifa's right. She had long, silky, chestnut hair that was tied up high with a beautiful, thick, yellow ribbon. She wore a beautiful, smooth, sleeve-less blue shirt with buttons on it, and a pretty, dark-blue skirt that came down to around four inches above her knees. She also wore dark-red high-heels and silver-hoop earrings. Her eyes were hazel.

Vincent was sitting in a seat behind the girl, in the row between Tifa and the girl. He was gazing at her with a strange expression on his face. The bell rang. A young woman of about 26 years came out of the teacher's office. She had warm, brown eyes and long, reddish-brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She wore a light-green blouse with a short, tan miniskirt. Her boots clicked on the floor as she walked behind the teacher's desk. The woman faced the class.

"Good morning," she said, nodding. "I am-"

"OH MY GAWD!" a girl burst into the room, red-faced and panting. She was a rather short, hyper-looking girl that had short, very dark-brown hair and deep brown eyes. She was wearing a dark-blue tank-top and cream-colored shorts. She also had a red sweatband on her wrist and wore white sneakers. "I'M LATE!" Tifa and Aeris stifled their laughter as Yuffie noticed the teacher. She paled. "Oh! I…um…er…hi," she mumbled feebly. The teacher stared at her sternly for a moment, then sighed.

"You are excused this time because it is the first day of school and I will make an exception. However, try to be on time, miss. Please take a seat." Yuffie nodded.

"Thanks," she said, looking embarrassed. Yuffie looked at Tifa and Aeris, who both cast her apologetic glances because there were no seats left near them. Yuffie sat down in the first desk of the first row, which was against the wall that was opposite to the door.

"As I was saying," the young woman continued, "I am Professor Dennis and I will be your Sociology teacher this year. I hope that I will get to know you all soon, and that you all will behave. As you all may find out, things on the zero-tolerance list with not be tolerated…hence the name of the list." Professor Dennis passed out a handout and returned to the front. Everyone stared at the sheet in disbelief. It was really, _really long_. "The first item is disrespectfulness. None of you will, on any account, be disrespectful to me, or each other. If you have a problem, either find a sensible solution or bring it up to me. Next, swearing. There will be absolutely _no_ swearing or cussing in this classroom. The words 'damn, dammit, crap, and hell' are not counted as violating swear words. Third, no lates. Unless you have a note _signed_ by a valid adult, the late will be unexcused and dealt with. Fourth, you must clean up your own messes. Fifth, all homework must be completed and handed in on the due date. Sixth, absences will be dealt with as lates are. Seventh, any kind of music device is forbidden to be out while someone is up here talking, during a test, and any other time I say so. Eighth, you must bring all needed items to the class such as binders, _before_ the class starts, so don't ask me to let you go somewhere to get it. Ninth…" The professor continued to talk, until she reached the last item on the list, which was number 17.

"Um…" A male student tentatively raised his hand.

"Yes?" the professor asked.

"Uh…well, I was wondering…what are the consequences for violating one of these…" He gestured at the list.

"Oh, detentions, deduction of grades, extra work, suspension, getting kicked out of class, ect.," the teacher answered. She smiled slightly. "You guys may think that I'm a stern, strict, 'retarded' loony, but I'm not. I'm just laying down the ground rules before anyone gets too out of hand. Now, enough of my talking. I'd like each of you to stand up and say a little about yourself. Your full name, age, the other classes you're taking, 3 things you like, three things you dislike, and what high school you attended last year. Starting from this row," Professor Dennis said, tapping on Yuffie's desk. Yuffie jumped up.

"Yo," she said cheerily, winking. "I'm Yuffie Kisaragi and I'm 17 years old. I like kickboxing, throwing things, and _fun_. I _don't_ like snobs, pervs, and spiders." Yuffie shuddered slightly. "Um, I'm taking literature, art, and martial arts. I went to the local Midgar High." She sat down. The boy sitting behind Yuffie stood up.

"Hey guys. I'm Nathan Josey and I'm 18," he said. Nathan was a handsome guy with dark, black hair and expressing, brown eyes. He wore a shirt with "The L.I.F.E.S.T.R.E.A.M" (a band) on it, and baggy jeans. He also had a small earring on his right ear, and a ring on his left hand. "Uh, I like fiddling with things, getting into the fashion, and The L.I.F.E.S.T.R.E.A.M. They rock." Lots of people nodded in agreement. "Yeah, um, I'm taking literature, clothes design, and mechanics. I don't like math, Fluffers the Chocobo® (a baby show), and moogles. Er…I went to Cosmo High." He sat down. This continued along for a while. Then, it was Aeris' turn. She stood up. A few guys whistled softly. The girl ignored them.

"Um, hi everyone. My name's Aeris Gainsborough and I'm 17 ½. I like designing things, singing, and reading. I don't like getting sick, getting bad grades, and mosquitoes. I have literature, clothes design, and music. I also went to Midgar High." She sat down. Tifa got up.

"Hi guys," she said, smiling and feeling nervous. "I'm Tifa Lockheart, I'm 17 ½, and I went to Midgar High. I also like The L.I.F.E.S.T.R.E.A.M, shopping, and hanging out with my friends. I don't like snakes, people who gossip, and players. I'm taking literature, martial arts, and clothes design." A few more people introduced themselves. There was a girl called Eretaya, a guy called Luke, and some others. Then it was Vincent's turn. He stood up slowly.

"Hello everyone," Vincent said, nodding to the class. "I'm Vincent Valentine, I'm 17 ½, and I went to Midgar high. I enjoy aspects of art, music, and…" He paused. "Spending time with my girlfriend." A couple of people laughed appreciatively at this. Vincent was smiling slightly. Everyone from Midgar High knew that Vincent was one of the members of the Turks, the most popular group in the school apart from Rufus Shinra and Scarlet Rougen. Vincent continued. "I dislike those who don't appreciate art, brawls, and anyone who treats my girlfriend wrongly. I'm taking literature, art, and music." He sat down. A girl stood up after three more people introduced themselves.

"Hi everyone," she greeted, smiling warmly. "My name's Lucrecia Crescent and I'm 17 ½. I'm currently taking literature, biology, and art. I like science, reading , and hanging out with my friends. I don't like slackers, horrible grades, and people who do drugs. I went to Forgotten High (which is also in Midgar)." She sat down. After 4 more presentations, Professor Dennis stood up.

"Alright," she said. "So…can anyone tell me what stereotype means?" Aeris raised her hand.

"It's when you give a label to someone, or a group of people, based on traits they have."

"Excellent," the teacher said. "Now, name the four main groups of stereotypes."

"Nerds," Yuffie said.

"Goths/punks," Aeris supplied.

"Jocks," Tifa offered, glaring at Vincent.

"The popular groups," Lucrecia answered. Professor Dennis nodded, smiling.

"Good. Now, let's focus on the main one. The popular groups. What is the image they project for others?"

"Being cool," Luke said.

"Yes. Now, the keyword here is _cool_. Focus on it. What does it mean to be cool? Is it just looks? Or is there more?" Tifa raised her hand tentatively.

"Well…I think that being 'cool' for most people is looking nice and acting the way people think are cool."

"Exactly," the teacher said, nodding. "Looking 'cool' makes other people awe and respect the person. Many people want to become friends with that person, which I'm sure is something everyone desires. However, we are looking at this through a normal person's point of view. What about the popular people? What do they feel? Many popular groups have nicknames. Can some people list some?" Many hands shot up around the room.

"The Gi Nattaks in Cosmo High," Nathan said.

"The Conformers at Dao Chao High," Eretaya said.

"The Turks," Yuffie replied. Professor Dennis' eyebrows rose.

"Ah, the Turks. I've heard about that group. They're the most popular group in Midgar High, right?" Lots of people nodded. The teacher smiled again. "Wouldn't it be interesting to have one of the Turks in this class? Then we can see this stereotyping thing from their point of view.

"There _is_ one," Tifa said loudly.

"Tifa, what are you doing!" Aeris hissed.

"Really? Who?" Professor Dennis asked. Tifa could practically feel the particular person's eyes on her back.

"Vincent," Tifa answered. "I'm embarrassing him," Tifa whispered to Aeris. Everyone was now looking at Vincent, who's eyes had widened and was now trying to look innocent.

"Is this true, Mr. Valentine?" the professor asked. Vincent paused, then jerked his head quickly. "Oh, well, please stand up Mr. Valentine," Professor Dennis said, looking delighted. "And tell us you and your friends' point of view about the aspect of being 'cool'." Vincent stood up jerkily, glaring at Tifa with as much venom as he could muster. If Tifa was another person, she would've quailed at the menacing figure, but being "Looser Strife's pimp girlfriend", she was used to it. She smirked. "So…?" the professor prompted.

"…I don't know," Vincent mumbled.

"Of course you do," the teacher said firmly. "Come on, don't be shy."

"…" Vincent looked very annoyed and embarrassed.

"Good one Tifa," Yuffie mouthed to the girl. Tifa grinned.

"I don't really have an opinion on this, and I don't know what my friends think," Vincent said uncomfortably. Professor Dennis sighed.

"All right," she said. Vincent sat down, relieved. "Anyhow," the young woman continued, "for homework, you will each write one page, single-spaced, about what _you_ think it means to be 'cool'. It is to be handed in next class, which is Wednesday." The bell rang for 12:00 pm. The class filed out.

"Whew! That was 2 hours? It sure went by fast," Yuffie exclaimed.

"Yeah," Aeris agreed. "It was interesting though. What do you guys have next?"

"Um, literature at 1:10 pm," Yuffie replied.

"Me too!" Aeris said happily. "Tifa?"

"Mm…huh? What? Oh, I have the same as you guys," Tifa answered distractedly. She had just seen Vincent walking out of the door, and the look he gave her told her that he would get his revenge. The notion didn't give Tifa much comfort.

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"Aeris! Tifa! Yuffie! Over here!" Cloud waved at the girls as they entered the literature classroom.

"Hi Cloud," they said. Aeris sat in front of Cloud, Tifa sat behind him, and Yuffie sat beside him, to the right. Tifa's seat was, unfortunately for her, next to Vincent's, who was sitting to her left. Elena was sitting behind Vincent. Reno sat next to Vincent's left, against the wall, with Rude sitting behind him (therefore, beside Elena). Rufus Shinra was also in the class. He was sitting against the wall at the right side of the room. Reeve came into the room. Then the bell rang. A young man that looked about 25 years old, with shoulder-length, black hair that tied back into a ponytail, was standing in front of the blackboard. He wore a white blouse and black pants. He also wore a black tie. The teacher looked up from the clipboard he was holding.

"Good afternoon," he said. "I am Professor Tseng Zhan. You may all address me as Professor Tseng. Welcome to literature. I will take attendance now, so please say 'here' when I call your name. No inappropriate things such as 'yo' or 'hey'. Tristy Auron."

"Here," the girl sitting behind Tifa said.

"Reanne Benarski."

"Here," a girl sitting to Reeve's right said.

"Luke Dabre."

"Here," Luke, who was sitting a seat behind Yuffie said.

"Aeris Gainsborough."

"Here," Aeris answered.

"Dakota Gessky."

"Here," a girl sitting behind Reanne replied.

"Zeisha Hamalton."

"Here," a girl sitting in front of Reno said.

"Jordan Illyoran."

"Here," a boy sitting behind Elena said.

"Nathan Josey."

"Here," Nathan replied. He was sitting right behind Yuffie.

"Yuffie Kisaragi."

"Here!" Yuffie said.

"Sebastian Koroniko."

"Here," a boy sitting behind Tristy said.

"Cory Laski."

"Here," a boy sitting behind Rufus said.

"Rednal Lellsago."

"Here," a boy sitting behind Rude answered.

"Tifa Lockheart."

"Here," Tifa replied.

"Torre Ornel."

"Here," a boy sitting to Aeris' right said.

"Rude Patterson."

"Here," Rude answered.

"Lauren Quesari."

"Here," a girl sitting in front of Zeisha said.

"Elena Renis."

"Here," Elena said.

"Crysline Sheena."

"Here," a girl sitting behind Luke replied.

"Rufus Shinra."

"Here," Rufus said, looking bored.

"Cloud Strife."

"Here," Cloud replied.

"Reno Terrace."

"Here," Reno answered airily.

"Robbie Thomas."

"Yo," a boy sitting a seat behind Rufus said. Professor Tseng frowned.

"That's strike one, Robbie," he said calmly. Robbie blinked…then shrugged.

"Whatever." Professor Tseng continued on as thought nothing had happened.

"Reeve Tuesti."

"Here," Reeve replied.

"Vincent Valentine."

"Here," Vincent said.

"Bernette Yore."

"Here," a girl sitting in front of Vincent answered. The teacher put the clipboard on the desk in front of him.

"Alright," he said. "Now, I will explain the strikes. It's like baseball; three strikes and you're out. Literally, meaning that you will leave the classroom. Some of you may think that this is good. However, any of you that think that will find that it's not. If you get kicked out of class for the day, you will receive a zero for anything done in class that day, and also for the homework assigned that day. If there is a project assigned that day, you will receive a zero for it, regardless of whether you did it or not. The strikes reset each day." Everyone looked at each other. This teacher was harsh. Professor Tseng waited for the information to sink in, then went on. "Now, here's a list of all the rules." He passed out the list, then started explaining them. Thus, the class passed by like any other boring one.

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"That was _so_ boring," Cloud groaned.

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed. "And we have this class tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday too! Two hours of boredom per day! Gawd!"

"Oh well," Tifa sighed. "At least I have martial arts next."

"I have music," Aeris said.

"I'm in Tifa's class!" Yuffie said, looking more cheerful.

"I have sociology next," Cloud muttered. "Seriously, the boredom! I hope we don't have too much homework. I mean, come on, we already have an essay due on Thursday." Tifa was about to say something, but stopped stone-dead. She screamed.

* * *

Muahahahaha…I'm evil, aren't I? Cliffhanger in the first chapter. The first chapter may be slightly boring, but trust me, events will get interesting later on! This _is_ a long story, after all. Stories always start out kinda boring in the beginning. In this university, the students don't have to take courses like math and stuff. Well, there are required courses for every year. And, the students only have four different courses. Every class is 2 hours, for four days a week, except for sociology. Sociology is only for three days a week. I'm sorry if any of the names is coincidentally anyone's, but I made up the names randomly (mostly using ones I liked), so…if your name happens to be Luke Dabre or something, it's not intentional. ------REVIEW!------- I will gladly try to update faster if there are more reviews. Please be nice and review. XD Next chapter: Chapter 2 - Turk Jerks. 


	2. Turk Jerks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII. I _do_ own anything else that cannot be identified as belonging to FFVII, anything related to FFVII, or anything that's copyrighted (such as…I dunno, Coke). FFVII and anything related to it is copyrighted to their owners (Squaresoft, Sony), as is anything that's copyrighted already. Anything else (such as Ocs, the plot, and the lyrics to the songs, restaurants, and other things) is _copyrighted_ to _me_ (so no stealing). Etc., ect…

Thanks for the reviews for the first chapter, Macabre Puppet, Teen Strife, Any-more-cheese, Gaby, Kat, Charan-Amaya, and Jaded Crescent! They made me h-a-p-p-y. I'm glad everyone liked the first chapter and didn't think that it was too boring. There'll be no more long attendance things, so don't worry Macabre Puppet. Lol. XD

**READ MY NEW ONESHOT**, "These Crimson Eyes of Mine"! Anyways, here's the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 2 - Turk Jerks 

Tifa spun around. Someone had been feeling her up! Reno grinned at her as she turned around.

"Hi babe," he drawled. Then he recoiled slightly as Tifa slapped him across the cheek with all her strength. An ugly red mark appeared on the left side of Reno's face.

"You PERVERT!" Tifa shrieked. The grin reappeared on Reno's face as he rubbed his sore cheek.

"Ow, you sure pack a punch babe." Tifa raised a fist.

"Don't babe me, you-!"

"No, don't Tifa!" Aeris grabbed Tifa's raised arm. She glared at Reno. "Why can't you leave us alone!"

"Uh, I don't know," Reno said, rolling his eyes. "Because you're all loosers? Though you two are pretty hot."

"Shut UP!" Aeris yelled. Cloud surged forward, ready to rip Reno to pieces. Aeris let go of Tifa and grabbed Cloud's arm instead.

"No, Cloud…don't cause any trouble, please! They're not worth it," she pleaded. Vincent caught Elena's eye, and the latter nodded. They both stepped forward.

"Reno, stop," Vincent said. "It's the first day of school. At least give them a break."

"Yeah," Elena agreed. "And I don't like what you did to Tifa, Reno. You've got to remember, _I'm_ a girl too." Reno looked at Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and Yuffie for another moment, then backed off.

"Fine," he said. "Today only." Reno left. Rude stood there, looking apologetic.

"Three minutes to the bell," Elena said to Tifa. She paused, then sighed. "Sorry about what Reno did." She, Rude, and Vincent left. Yuffie glared at their backs as they turned around the corner and disappeared.

"Those JERKS!" she burst out angrily. Aeris sighed.

"Well, come on guys, we'd better hurry, or we'll be late."

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Vincent entered the music classroom with Rude. He looked around. The classroom was quite large, with many instruments, music stands, and microphones. There were tables that seated four in the center of the room. Rufus was seated at one of them. He beckoned Vincent and Rude over.

"Hey guys," he greeted as they sat down.

"Hi," they replied. Rude looked curiously at Rufus.

"You like singing?" he asked. Rude nodded, grinning.

"Yeah. Singing and playing the keyboard. You guys?"

"Singing and playing the electric guitar," Vincent answered.

"Playing the drums," Rude said. "Not singing."

"I like singing all right, but I really suck at writing songs," Rufus said, frowning at the thought.

"I like writing songs," Vincent commented.

"I can write songs," Rude said. "But they aren't too good."

"Hm…well, you'll just have to help us Vincent," Rufus decided. Vincent looked amused. He turned around and saw that Aeris had burst into the classroom. Then, the bell rang. Aeris looked around for a seat. She went over to where Bernette and Torre were sitting. "So, Gainsborough is in the class," Rufus observed. "She looks quite angry. I wonder what happened to her?"

"Well, Reno tried to feel Tifa up," Rude said.

"Oh. Heh." Rufus laughed softly. "Trust Reno to do things like that on the very first day of university."

"Yes," Vincent agreed. Just then, a loud sound reverberated through the room, catching everyone's attention. A young woman had banged on a cymbal. She smiled.

"Hi everyone. I'm Professor Shimiro, and I'm your music teacher." She looked around the room. "Hm, we don't have many people in here. In fact, there's only…" The teacher checked the attendance. "Wow, only 14 people. Well, I suppose that's a good thing. It won't be too noisy in here." She smiled again. "There aren't a lot of rules in this class. Just the basics, plus one important one." Professor Shimiro suddenly glared at everyone. "Don't. Damage. The. Equipment. Got that?" Everyone nodded quickly. "Ok, good. Now, throughout this course, there will be concerts, presentations, and projects. Don't worry about the concerts though; there will only be three. The Winter Concert, Spring Concert, and Summer Concert. There will be weekly presentations, as well as a couple of projects. The main things about this course are the presentations and concerts. Also, another thing you guys may be happy to hear…there are no tests or quizzes." At this statement, a cheer went around the room. The teacher waited for the cheering to die down. "Any questions?" Torre raised his hand.

"Um…do we _have_ to sing?" he asked.

"In most of the presentations, yes. But not in the concerts or other things if you don't want to," the professor answered. She looked around. "No more questions? Ok, well, I'll give you all your first assignment. Write a song and be prepared to sing it on Friday. The song has to be original, and it has to have at least two body parts and a chorus." A few people groaned. Professor Shimiro smiled. "I know it's tough in such a short time limit, but I want to see what you all can do, and where you each need to start off. You guys have all the classes this week to work on it. Questions?"

"Does the song have to be memorized?" Aeris asked.

"No," the teacher answered. "Oh, and one other thing I forgot to mention. You will have to play an instrument while you're singing. You can also record the music, but it has to be original and played by you. If you record it, I expect you to say your name after the music." Everyone groaned. "Don't worry, I won't mark too harshly," Professor Shimiro said.

"Can a friend help with the lyrics?" Rufus asked.

"Yes, but you _must give credit_ to them if they do." The professor looked at the students. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Get started. I'll be coming around to see how you do." Everyone instantly started talking.

Vincent got out a piece of paper. He frowned, thinking of a name for his song. He decided to dedicate it to his girlfriend. Vincent tried picturing the blonde, but another image floated into his mind. It was a girl with long, silky, chestnut hair and hazel eyes. Vincent smiled for a moment, thinking about the girl…then frowned again. His girlfriend was Elena. Why on earth was he thinking about Lucrecia? Vincent tried to picture Elena again, but the image of Lucrecia kept blocking his mind. He gazed at his paper…then wrote down a title. _You Cloud My Mind_.

"Vincent?" Rude's voice brought Vincent out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up.

"Have you got anything yet?" Rude questioned. Vincent nodded.

"A title," he answered.

"Me too," Rude said.

"Same here," Rufus said. "Mine's _Get Out of Here_."

"How…subtle," Rude commented. Rufus laughed, noticing the sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, I said that I was bad at writing songs, including titles. What's yours." Rude flushed slightly.

"Um…_Count On Me_."

"Is that supposed to be a love song?" Vincent asked. Rude nodded. Vincent returned to his paper, thinking. Suddenly, a few lines struck him. He scribbled them down, then sat back to read.

_Every night, when I sit down_

_To turn on the TV,_

_I try to focus on the show_

_But words just escape me._

_I can't think of anything else_

_I can't see,_

_I'm blind to everything in front of me_

_When you appear in my thoughts._

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight._

"Whoa, you already have that much!" Rude exclaimed as he stared at Vincent's paper. Vincent shrugged.

"It was a sudden idea attack," he said. Rufus whistled.

"Well, you're probably gonna get a perfect score," he sighed. "I can't think of anything else."

"Well, the words of your song should come from your heart," Vincent said. "Why did you decide to title your song _Get Out of Here_?" Rufus scowled.

"I was thinking of Scarlet," he said, looking murderous.

"You guys had a fight?" Rude asked. Rufus nodded.

"See, those words come from your heart. Basically, you're telling Scarlet to 'get out' of your life?" Vincent questioned. Rufus nodded again. "So, just keep on writing your thoughts. As long as nobody can tell that you're talking about Scarlet, your lyrics should be fine." Rufus grinned.

"Thanks man!" He started writing furiously. So did Rude. Vincent continued on with his song.

_I'm helplessly here_

_On my own,_

_Caught in a spider's web._

_Tangled in my thoughts of you._

_Everything else _

_Just goes right through me._

_Passing through the_

_Thought that's you._

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Aeris stared at her notebook. _A Cinderella Story_ was written across the top of the page, but she didn't have any idea of what to write. Her music teacher had told her before that the words had to come from her heart. But…Aeris didn't have a boyfriend currently…so there really wasn't any "Cinderella story". Or was there? Aeris imagined herself as Cinderella. That would be the perfect way to meet her boyfriend. Aeris was always a bit of a romantic. She preferred romantic guys. Her old boyfriend was romantic…but he moved away. They had lost touch since. Aeris tried picturing the prince.

"Hm…" Aeris thought. "The prince. He looks like…like…like…Cloud?" She stopped, shocked. No! What was she thinking! Cloud was _Tifa's_ boyfriend! Aeris shook her head firmly and replaced Cloud with her old boyfriend, Zack. Zack…hm…Cloud looked kind of like Zack…"Stop it!" Aeris told herself angrily. She started writing.

_If it was true_

_When I met you,_

_You were the perfect one_

_For me._

_I thought that we could stay_

_Like that forever._

_I was happy,_

_And so were you_

_Until the day you moved away_

_And blinded me with tears._

_How was this the perfect life?_

_How was this the life I dreamed?_

_How was this the thing I wished for?_

_How could we live happily?_

_No matter what you say to me,_

_What promises you gave._

_You gotta know one thing_

_This is no Cinderella story._

_Day by day,_

_Week by week,_

_I waited for a message from you._

_Something, anything._

_If you really cared about me,_

_You would've written something._

_I wasn't happy_

_You broke my heart_

_And I vowed to care no more_

_To have nothing to do with you._

Aeris finished. She smiled as she read the song. That was exactly how she felt about Zack. _Zack_. The mere thought of him made her feel angry. "That stupid spiky-headed jerk," she thought venomously.

"Hey, Aeris?" Aeris looked up and saw Bernette looking at her. "Um…can you help me?"

"Oh, sure," Aeris said, smiling. "What do you need help on?"

"Well…I want to write a love song, but not a sad one. All the love songs I've ever listened to are sad ones." Aeris blinked.

"Um…well, do you have a boyfriend?" Bernette shook her head. "Oh. Hm…is there someone you like?" Bernette blinked…then blushed.

"Maybe…I think…" Aeris tapped her paper secretively.

"You don't have to tell me who…just write all the feelings you have for the person down, then form the words into a song."

"Ok. Thanks Aeris," Bernette said, still blushing, but looking happier. She got to work.

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Two hours later, at 5:15 pm, the bell rang. Vincent, Rude, and Rufus exited the music classroom. Rufus said goodbye and left. Vincent and Rude met up with Elena and Reno in the cafeteria.

"How was music?" Elena asked. Vincent shrugged.

"It was ok. Aeris is in our class, though."

"Lockheart and Kisaragi are in our class," Reno sighed. "Well, it's not our fault if we get crap in our class."

"_You're_ the crap, Turk!" came an angry voice from behind the redhead. The Turks turned around and saw their arch-enemies glaring at them.

"Oh. The losers," Reno said, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut the hell up!" Cloud snarled. Reno snorted.

"That the best you can do?" he taunted. Yuffie growled.

"You guys get angry so easily," Elena observed, smirking.

"Come on guys," Reno said, leaving. "I'm not gonna break my promise for today." The Turks left.

"I hate those guys so much, they can just _go to hell_!" Yuffie snarled. Cloud nodded.

"Same here. I just want to beat them up. Especially Reno."

"Yeah, he's the worst," Aeris agreed. "Elena's okay, though."

"Vincent too," Tifa said. "He's not that bad. Rude isn't really bad either, but he listens to Reno, so…yeah."

"And to think," Cloud muttered viciously. "I have to share a dorm with one of them!"

"Me too!" Yuffie reminded Cloud. Aeris sighed.

"Let's go have dinner guys."

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Vincent walked into his dorm. Cloud was sitting at one of the desks, doing homework. He had looked up when Vincent came into the room, but had immediately started ignoring him. This suited Vincent fine, for he wasn't in the mood to have a fight with Cloud. Vincent sat at the other desk and took out a piece of lined paper. He completed his one-page response for sociology. After that, he took out his incomplete lyrics and stared at them. Vincent already had 2 verses and a chorus, which was all that was required, but he felt that his song still wasn't finished. Vincent frowned, thinking. He scribbled down seven more lines.

_Now if it's something_

_Simple as_

_A kiss and hug_

_That'll clear my mind of you,_

_I would gladly give in_

_To your touch_

_And hold you close to me._

Vincent glanced at the clock. It was 10:37 pm. Cloud was still up, writing at his desk. Vincent shrugged, then went to bed.

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Tifa entered literature with Aeris the next day. She and Aeris sat in the same seat as they did yesterday.

"Hi Tifa," Cloud said to her. He winked at Aeris. "Hey babe." Tifa didn't mind, because she knew that Cloud joked around like that with Aeris all the time.

"Hey there hottie," Aeris replied, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Cloud. You should be doing it to Tifa, not me." Tifa smiled.

"Oh, I don't mind. In fact, I pity you Aeris. Having to stand Cloud's flirting." Cloud turned around in his seat and flashed a flirtatious smile at Tifa.

"Aw, now, don't be jealous Tiffy-sweetie." Tifa blanched.

"I'll _Tiffy-sweetie_ you!" she said dangerously, holding up her binder. Cloud turned around quickly.

"Eh heh…" He laughed nervously. Aeris giggled. The bell rang.

"Good morning class," Professor Tseng said. "Today, we will start on some Shakespeare poetry." He passed out paperback books titled "Shakespeare Poetry". "Now, please turn to page 16. I want all of you to write a two-page response on the poem, single-spaced." Everyone groaned. The teacher frowned. "It is due at the end of the class. I want highly detailed responses analyzing the poem. Refer to many quotes. I don't want to see things like: 'this poem's stupid. It's retarded. It's dumb.' I want explanations, descriptions, quotes, and analysis. Start working."

"Aw , crap," Reno sighed. "I don't get it. What's with all the stupid 'thee's', 'thou's', 'thy's', 'shalt's', and the other trash?"

"I don't know," Elena said, frowning at the page.

"It's not trash," Vincent said calmly. "That was the way English was spoken back in Shakespeare's day."

"Well, you're freakishly smart," Reno grumbled. "Do you get it, Rude?"

"Kind of," Rude answered. Reno swore. People in the class had started drifting around, asking each other for help. Professor Tseng didn't seem to mind. He had gone into his office. Vincent glanced at Tifa. She was staring at the poem, looking confused. From what Vincent could see, she only had two or three lines written. Tifa was also wearing a white shirt. Perfect. Vincent quietly got out a water bottle that was almost full. He unscrewed the cap so that it would fall off at a single touch. It was crushed at the bottom so that Vincent could pass by Tifa on the pretense of throwing away the wrecked bottle. Vincent got up. As he passed Tifa, he pretended to stumble. His finger touched the cap, which fell off, and he "accidentally" spilled water all over Tifa. Tifa gasped. She was instantly soaked, and since she was wearing a white, thin shirt that was now wet, her bra showed through clearly. Everyone turned to look. A few guys whistled.

"Whoops," Vincent said, smiling at Tifa. Tifa stared at him, and her eyes filled with tears. Aeris quickly handed her coat to the poor girl, who covered herself with it and ran out of the room, crying. Vincent continued on to the trash can to throw away the water bottle. He returned to his seat with Cloud, Yuffie, Aeris, and Reeve glaring daggers at him. Reno clapped Vincent on the back.

"Nice going Vince!" he said, grinning. Vincent smiled. Rude's expression was unfathomable. Vincent looked at Elena. She wasn't looking at him, but she was frowning slightly. Suddenly, the satisfaction that Vincent had felt was gone. At the memory of Tifa's tear-stricken face, Vincent felt ashamed. Revenge wasn't as sweet as he thought it would be.

* * *

Hm…kind of a short chapter. Oh dear, Vincent…-shakes head- Poor Tifa. Next chapter: Chapter 3 - Emotion Crash. Please **REVIEW**. Thank you. 

PS. Also, please remember to read and review my new oneshot, "These Crimson Eyes of Mine". It's a humor fic, so those of you that like to laugh should take a shot at it. XD


	3. Emotion Crash

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII. I _do_ own anything else that cannot be identified as belonging to FFVII, anything related to FFVII, or anything that's copyrighted (such as…I dunno, Coke). FFVII and anything related to it is copyrighted to their owners (Squaresoft, Sony), as is anything that's copyrighted already. Anything else (such as Ocs, the plot, and the lyrics to the songs, restaurants, and other things) is _copyrighted_ to _me_ (so no stealing). Etc., ect…

I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that, my hand is itching and itching to write the exciting parts of the story, but I'm not there yet, so I can't. I'm not the type of author that can write certain chapters and do the rest later; I have to go along with the order (I already have an event planned out for each chapter). And, the "exciting" parts (to me, anyway) won't happen until like, chapter 15. So, still quite a long time until the plot really starts to fold out. My progress for writing has only reached chapter 8, because I've been sick and I have too much homework these few days. But anyways…for the good news! Remember how I said before that this story will probably only have like 33 chapters unless I come up with new ideas for new chapters? Well, I have! I've counted, and the story will probably have up to 40-41 chapters now. I'll try to make it longer if I can.

I know I should update Intricate first, but I couldn't help myself. You see, all the people that reviewed made me very happy, because this story now has 15 reviews! With only two chapters. This made me very happy. So thanks to Gaby, xXBrightEyesXx, Froline el-Vasper, Lilmizgrunge, Charan-Amaya, Kat, and Jaded Crescent for reviewing! Now, for some replies to the reviews (these are for _everyone_ to read and know!):

1) Don't worry, there won't be many long, big descriptions of clothes. That's only the first chapter.

2) Oh, Cloud doesn't hang out with Reeve. Reeve hangs out with…people that will remain nameless, lol. Barret _is_ the gym teacher. I'll put up the list of teachers so everyone can look at it and not get confused. Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge won't get a part in this story because I don't know much about them and I don't like them very much. Sorry!

3) I forgot to say this in chapter two, but yes, Tifa's hair is brown. I don't know why I put black. -goes to change it-

Here is the list of teachers that will appear in this story (most of them probably won't be appearing very often). The words in the parenthesis next to the names are the pronunciation keys:

Professor Cid Highwind - Mechanics

Professor Shera Highwind - Clothes Design

Professor Tseng Zhan (Zann)- Literature

Professor Sephira (Se-fear-a) Jenova - Art

Professor Jillenne (Jill-enn) Shimiro - Music

Coach Barret Wallace - Physical Education

Professor Naro Bugenhagen - Counselor

Master Dameru (Da-meh-ru) Zangan - Martial Arts

Professor Celene Dennis - Sociology

Professor Matthew Argen - Computers (Tech)

Professor Lisa Nickhole (Nicole) - Biology

* * *

Chapter 3 - Emotion Crash

It was Friday. The last day of the first week of school. There hadn't been any exciting events, although Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and Yuffie hated the Turks more than ever now. Especially Vincent. He hadn't spoken a single word to Tifa after the incident. Guilt gnawed at Vincent's insides, though. Whenever he saw Tifa now, it would eat at him furiously. Vincent had thought of apologizing, but his pride instantly wiped out that thought. Elena wasn't helping much either. Whenever _she_ saw Tifa, she would frown and purposefully avoid Vincent's eyes. Obviously, she thought that what Vincent had done to Tifa was overkill. Rude simply wouldn't comment. Vincent and Elena both knew that he liked Tifa. Reno didn't know, though. Rude would do what Reno asked him to do most of the time, but always avoided inflicting something negative upon Tifa.

Today, when Vincent walked into the sociology room, he saw Tifa chatting with Aeris. Tifa turned in her seat to see who had come into the classroom. She froze, and quickly looked away. Another wave of guilt attacked Vincent. He tried to ignore it and went to his seat. He sat down, and noticed Lucrecia enter the room. She was wearing a dark maroon blouse and dark blue jeans with black platform high-heels. Lucrecia was absolutely beautiful. The girl walked over to her seat, which was in front of Vincent. On the second day of school, he had switched seats with the person behind Lucrecia. Vincent smiled at Lucrecia as all his guilty feelings disappeared.

"Hello Lucrecia," Vincent said to her. She smiled back warmly.

"Hi Vincent. Did you finish the still-life sketch for art?"

"Yes," Vincent replied. "You?" Lucrecia nodded. "What did you draw?" The girl looked at Vincent slyly.

"You'll just have to find out during art."

"What! But that's last period!" Vincent protested. Lucrecia's smiled merely widened. Vincent sighed. "Fine."

"You'll have to show me yours too," Lucrecia added as she turned back to the front. Professor Dennis came out of her office.

"Alright, first off, I would like you all to hand in your diagrams of high school society that was assigned on Wednesday." As everyone handed theirs in, the teacher continued speaking. "I expect them to be highly detailed with descriptive paragraphs for each stereotypical group in the diagrams.

"Crap!" Yuffie whispered to Tifa and Aeris. "I _thought_ it was too good to be true! I mean, an easy diagram that takes five minutes to do? No way! Ugh…"

"You didn't put descriptions?" Aeris asked. Yuffie shook her head. Aeris looked half amused, half sympathetic. "Oh, Yuffie. This is _university_! It's never that easy."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed. "I wrote paragraphs…but they aren't too detailed or descriptive." Just then, Professor Dennis spoke again.

"Alright class. I have a project for everyone to do. Now, before you all start groaning, I'll say that this project is a fun one." The professor paused. "You have to team up with a partner and create some sort of entertainment that shows us how some stereotypical groups are treated. It can be a puppet show, a play you've recorded on video, a song, a board game, something you can think of. Also, since this is sociology and opposite gender relationships are part of the subject, your partner will have to be a person of the opposite gender. That means guys and girls. You may get other people to help you, but you must give them credit. Once you and your partner have decided on something to do, come up and get my permission before starting the project. You may now choose partners." The class was instantly buzzing with noise as people tried to decide who would be their partner. Vincent tapped Lucrecia's shoulder. She turned around.

"Would you like to be partners, Lucrecia?" The girl blinked…then beamed.

"Oh, Vincent! Sure!" Vincent smiled.

"Wonderful. Now, what will we do for the project…?"

"Hm…I don't know. A puppet show would be kinda hard to do, I don't want to do a play, and a board game would probably be really complicated. I suppose that we _could_ do a song, but…well, I'm kinda too shy to sing in front of the class…with you, of course," Lucrecia said.

"Hm…" Vincent frowned slightly, thinking. "I like the idea of a play, but if you don't want to do it…"

"Oh, whatever, I'll do it," Lucrecia said, smiling. "After all, there isn't really anything else we can do. Besides…the only reason I don't want to do a play is because I'm really shy…" Vincent smiled back at Lucrecia.

"Don't worry Lucrecia…you'll be find. Now, let's go tell Professor Dennis, shall we?"

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Aeris, Tifa, and Yuffie looked around with dismayed expressions on their faces. They barely knew any guys in here! Who were they supposed to partner up with?

"Um, hey." Aeris looked up. Nathan was standing next to her, looking awkwardly at the ground. "Um…would you like to be partners Aeris?" The addressee blinked.

"Erm.." Nathan was in three of Aeris's classes, and he had seemed like a good person so far. Really nice and not as perverted as most guys were. "Sure." It was Nathan's turn to blink. He looked surprised.

"Oh…oh, ok then…I mean…uh…so, what do you wanna do for the project?"

"Um…"

"Hey, I've just realized something!" Yuffie interrupted suddenly. Aeris, Tifa, and Nathan looked at her. "You sit behind me in this class _and_ in literature!" Nathan stared.

"Oh. Uh…"

"Just a random observation," Yuffie told him. She started talking to Tifa. "So Tifa, no partner? Ditto here." Tifa smiled.

"Yeah…well, we don't really know anyone here…"

"Unless you count Mr. Jock-ass there," said Yuffie, jerking a thumb at Vincent. "Heh, that sounds like jackass. You know, he _is_ a jackass. Hmph, look at him, talking to Lucrecia over there. Poor girl, she has no idea what kind of person he is. What a-" Yuffie stopped suddenly when she noticed Tifa's painful, distant expression. "Oh, I'm sorry Tifa! I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right Yuffie," Tifa cut in. She smiled wryly. "Heh, to think that I thought that he wasn't so bad…I mean, he and Elena would always stop Reno when he went too far. They never really picked on us that much…guess I was wrong."

"Oh Tifa…" Yuffie sighed and looked sadly at her friend.

"Hey," came two voices at the same time. Tifa and Yuffie turned around. Cory Laski and Sebastian Koroniko were standing there, smiling at the girls. Cory looked at Tifa.

"Be my partner?" he asked. Tifa scowled, looking at him malevolently. Cory's smile faltered slightly. Suddenly, Tifa's scowl disappeared and she was smiling back at him.

"Of course," Tifa replied. She and Cory began discussing their project. Sebastian looked at Yuffie. She grinned and nodded before he could say anything.

"Right, so, what do ya wanna do?" Yuffie asked, lounging back in her chair.

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"If you two choose to do a play that's recorded, it'll have to be at least fifteen minutes long," Professor Dennis said, looking at Vincent and Lucrecia. The students glanced at each other and nodded. "Alright then. Remember to make it detailed because this project will be marked out of 135 points." The teacher rapped the blackboard for the class's attention. "I forgot to mention one thing. The project will be due on October 1st. Since today is September 8th, you'll all have three weeks and two days to complete your projects. Get each other's phone numbers, work on it at home, get it done. The projects are marked out of 135 points, so make them good."

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"Vincent and Rude joined Rufus at their table in music. Rufus rubbed his hands together and laughed nervously.

"So…you guys got your songs?" he asked. "I'm really nervous…you see, mine isn't too good…"

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Rude said reasonably. "Vincent helped me a little on mine. At least you can sing. I can't…"

"Oh, you two will do fine. Stop whining," Vincent said, scowling at them. "You'll never do good if you don't try."

"So says the teacher." Rufus grinned. "Yeah…I guess you're right. Still, I'm really nervous about this whole presentation thing…mine's just plain keyboard." He sighed.

"Vincent played his electric guitar and I played my drums for mine," Rude said. Just them, Professor Shimiro called for attention.

"As you all know, today is the _big_ day. Presentation day. Your very first presentation day in this class," the professor announced. She paused for effect. "While someone's presenting, I expect _absolute silence_ from the audience until the end of the presentation. If you talk, you automatically loose ten points from your mark, which is out of seventy. If you would like to do yours again, you may, after everyone has presented. Remember to act natural and try not to be shy. Now, are there any volunteers to go first?" No one raised their hand. Professor Shimiro frowned. "Alright then, I'll just pick people randomly. Rufus Shinra, you're up first."

"Crap!" Rufus exclaimed, groaning. "Ugh…" He took out a CD that had his music recorded on it, took out a piece of paper with his lyrics on it, and went up to the front. He popped the CD into the CD player and stood on the mini-stage. The teacher sat next to it, preparing to press the play button. Rufus twitched and said, "My song is called _Get Out_." He nodded for the teacher to press the play button, and the music started. The sounds of beautifully played keyboard music drifted through the room. Rufus took a deep breath, and began.

"_This is one time too many_

_I've argued with you too long,_

_If you thought I cared for you_

_Well, think again._

_Geez Louise, don't you know_

_That I hate you now?_

_Why are you even here?_

_How did I let you in?_

_What was going on in my mind?_

_I really don't care._

_I'm sick of looking at you._

_I'm sick of listening to you._

_I'm sick of talking to you._

_I'm sick of being with you._

_I want you outta my house._

_I want you on the other side of my door._

_I want you gone from my life._

_Get out of here._

_God, can't you understand?_

_Understand these three words._

_No, not I love you._

_They're I hate you._

_I hate you more than hell itself,_

_I want to get rid of you._

_So get gone._

_You're not welcome here._

_You're not welcome here._

_You're not welcome here._

_I'm sick of looking at you._

_I'm sick of listening to you._

_I'm sick of talking to you._

_I'm sick of being with you._

_I want you outta my house._

_I want you on the other side of my door._

_I want you gone from my life._

_Get out of here._

_So get out._

_Get out of here,_

_And leave me alone."_

Rufus finished as the music died. Professor Shimiro continued writing on the clipboard, then looked up.

"Well Rufus, you have quite impressive singing skills and keyboard skills. Your lyrics are kind of…conversational, however. You need to work on them. Perhaps someone in the class who has excellent lyric-writing skills can help you. Good work, your mark is sixty." Rufus hurried back to his table.

"You got 85.7," Vincent told him. Rufus breathed a sigh of relief. Bernette went up. She had an okay singing voice, but her lyrics and instrumental (the flute) skills weren't too good. She received a 51. Then Rude was called on. He went up and placed his CD in the CD player. The music of an electric guitar and drums combined started playing.

"My song is titled _Count On Me_," Rude said softly.

_"Oh you, girl,_

_Standing over there_

_In your sheltered group_

_Talking to your friends,_

_Laughing at their jokes,_

_I doubt that you're thinking of me._

_You're probably looking at_

_Your brain-dead friend._

_Why him?_

_Why not me?_

_I really like you girl,_

_If you just knew it._

_Do you know me?_

_Are you looking at me?_

_Can you understand my feelings_

_For you?_

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you're scared of no protection._

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you think that I'll dump you._

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you fear that I'm lying,_

_Well, don't worry._

_You can count on me._

_Count on me_

_Girl._

_Hey hey,_

_Listen to me._

_I'll give you whatever you want._

_I'll make your life wonderful._

_You can life like a princess,_

_With me._

_I'll do anything for you,_

_If only you can trust me._

_Be with me,_

_Return your affections_

_And hang out with me,_

_Happily._

_Do you know me?  
_

_Are you looking at me?_

_Can you understand my feelings_

_For you?_

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you're scared of no protection._

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you think that I'll dump you._

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you fear that I'm lying,_

_Well, don't worry._

_You can count on me_

_Count on me,_

_Girl._

_Do you know me?  
_

_Are you looking at me?_

_Can you understand my feelings_

_For you?_

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you're scared of no protection._

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you think that I'll dump you._

_If you're not with me,_

_Cause you fear that I'm lying,_

_Well, don't worry._

_You can count on me_

_Count on me,_

_Girl."_

Rude's song ended and after the music came Rude's voice saying "this is Rude Patterson. Thanks to my buddy Vincent for helping me with the chorus and playing the electric guitar in the music." Professor Shimiro looked at Rude.

"Hm…your lyrics are alright, and your skill with the drums is very good. However, you need to practice your singing skills." Rude winced. "Still, you did a pretty good job. Your mark is 61." Rude smiled. A B. Not bad. Pretty good, as the teacher said, actually. The rest of the class did their presentations one by one. Torre Ornel was called up. He did his piece, and the professor was impressed. "Quite well done Torre!" she complimented, smiling. "You mark is 68."

"Wow, that's the highest one in the class so far," Rufus whispered. Aeris was called up. She walked to the piano sitting in a corner of the room and sat down, putting down the music sheets she had been holding.

"Um, I'm playing the piano right now for mine." Professor Shimiro looked pleased.

"Finally, someone who didn't record," she said. "Alright Aeris, start when you're ready." Aeris gulped nervously.

"My song is called _A Cinderella Story_." The girl took a deep breath and began to play and sing.

"_If it was true,_

_When I met you._

_You were the perfect one_

_For me._

_I thought that we could stay_

_Like that forever._

_I was happy_

_And so were you._

_Until the day you moved away,_

_And blinded me with tears._

_How was this the perfect life?_

_How was this the life I dreamed?_

_How was this the thing I wished for?_

_How could we live happily?_

_No matter what you say to me,_

_What promises you gave._

_You gotta know one thing,_

_This is no Cinderella story._

_Day by day,_

_Week by week,_

_I waited for a message from you._

_A letter, anything._

_If you really cared about me._

_You would've written something._

_I wasn't happy,_

_You broke my heart._

_And I vowed to care no more,_

_To have nothing to do with you._

_How was this the perfect life?_

_How was this the life I dreamed?_

_How was this the thing I wished for?_

_How could we live happily?_

_No matter what you say to me,_

_What promises you gave._

_You gotta know one thing,_

_This is no Cinderella story._

_Then you came back._

_Two years later._

_Your girlfriend had dumped you,_

_So you came back to me._

_Well, I'll tell you one thing:_

_If I'm Cinderella,_

_You're not my Prince Charming._

_I won't fall in love like I did before,_

_Your chance had gone, no more._

_How was this the perfect life?_

_How was this the life I dreamed?_

_How was this the thing I wished for?_

_How could we live happily?_

_No matter what you say to me,_

_What promises you gave._

_You gotta know one thing,_

_This is no Cinderella story._

_How was this the perfect life?_

_How was this the life I dreamed?_

_How was this the thing I wished for?_

_How could we live happily?_

_No matter what you say to me,_

_What promises you gave._

_You gotta know one thing,_

_This is no Cinderella story."_

Aeris concluded with a long note, and fell silent. All was quiet for a moment, then suddenly, loud applause broke out.

"That was…_terrific_!" the teacher exclaimed. "Seventy out of seventy!" Aeris blinked…then smiled happily. She sat back down at her table, to be congratulated by Bernette and Torre. "Hm…one more person left," Professor Shimiro said. "And that is…Vincent Valentine." Aeris snapped to attention as Vincent walked up to the front of the room, carrying his large, black, leather guitar case. Much as Aeris didn't like Vincent at the moment, she was quite curious to hear him sing. He didn't seem like the type that would like singing.

Vincent took out his electric guitar. It was completely, shining black, except for a couple of red bands. When Vincent plugged in the guitar and held it in playing position, it completed his appearance. Vincent looked like some sort of punk rock star. A few girls sighed happily. Vincent spoke.

"The title of my song is _You Cloud My Mind_." After strumming a few notes, he began to sing.

_"Every night, when I sit down_

_To turn on the TV,_

_I try to focus on the show_

_But words just escape me._

_I can't think of anything else,_

_I can't see._

_I'm blind to everything in front of me,_

_When you appear in my thoughts._

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight._

_I'm helplessly here_

_On my own,_

_Caught in a spider's web._

_Tangled in my thoughts of you._

_Everything else_

_Just goes right through me_

_Passing through the_

_Thought that's you._

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight._

_Now if it's something_

_Simple as_

_A kiss and hug_

_That'll clear my mind of you,_

_I would gladly give in_

_To your touch,_

_And to hold you close to me._

_But that doesn't work,_

_Nothing else does._

_I just can't get rid of you._

_You could my mind_

_So furiously_

_That it makes me want to_

_Come close to you!_

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight._

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight._

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight._

_No words are here,_

_No pictures are there,_

_Nothing can describe you._

_If it is my problem,_

_I cannot say_

_But that_

_You cloud my thoughts_

_Tonight."_

Vincent finished. The silence that followed was longer than that of Aeris's. Vincent blinked. Did they all hate his song or something? All of a sudden, applause roared throughout the room. Some people even cheered. Vincent stared in surprise.

"That was _brilliant_ Vincent!" Professor Shimiro praised. "With that voice of yours, you can become a famous singer! Congratulations, you just snagged yourself a seventy out of seventy."

"Are you going to become a famous singer?" Rufus asked as soon as Vincent sat down.

"…no," Vincent replied after a pause. "As much as I like singing, I don't want it to be my career."

Aeris felt numb. _That_ was _Vincent_! "Wow…he has such a talent," Aeris thought, shocked.

"Oh, isn't he just perfect?" Bernette sighed. "That electric guitar just totally completes his look. With that and his voice, he must be the greatest guy ever. I bet that Vincent's a really sweet guy." The girl gazed dreamily at Vincent. Aeris frowned.

"Shows what you know," she thought sarcastically. "Too bad most of the girls don't know how nasty Vincent is."

"Because of most of the good performances today, I've decided to give you guys a little treat. No homework over the weekend!" Professor Shimiro announced. This was met with hearty cheers. The bell rang. "Alright, class dismissed."

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Vincent entered the large art classroom. He spotted Lucrecia sitting in her chair and went over to her.

"Hey Lucrecia," he greeted.

"Hi Vincent," Lucrecia said cheerfully. A large piece of paper was lying face-down on the table, in front of her.

"So," Vincent stated. Lucrecia blinked.

"So what?"

"Your sketch…?" Vincent prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh!" Lucrecia said. "Hm. I want to see yours too." Vincent nodded and unrolled his sketch. They exchanged drawings. Lucrecia gasped. "Oh my god, this is so good!" Vincent stared at Lucrecia's sketch.

"You're not bad yourself," he commented. "This is really good Lucrecia." Lucrecia's sketch was a golden retriever lying on a lawn. It looked alive, and Vincent could almost see it panting on the lawn, the sun shining on its long fur.

"Really Vincent, this is like…Renaissance-quality or something," Lucrecia countered admiringly. Vincent's sketch was that of a room fill with art supplies and paintings. In the middle of the room was a painting easel. A small bird was perched on the windowsill. It looked so lifelike that Lucrecia wanted to stroke its feathers.

The teacher, Professor Jenova, called for attention. "So, I hope that you all finished your sketches," she said, "for you will paint them, on a new sheet of paper. I expect detailed paintings with many different colors. Your paintings are due on October 3rd, so I suggest that you all get to work right away." Everyone bustled about, getting paper, paints, brushes, and water.

"Say, Lucrecia?" Vincent asked as he set up his work.

"Yes?" Lucrecia asked. Vincent fumbled with his brush for a moment.

"Um…do you have a boyfriend?" he asked awkwardly. Lucrecia stopped and blinked.

"…boyfriend? Um…no, I don't."

"Ok," Vincent said, sounding relieved. Lucrecia looked at him curiously. That was strange. Normally, guys asked girls if they had boyfriends because they liked them. But…Vincent had a girlfriend. Elena, who was one of the people he hung out with.

"Uh…why?" Lucrecia questioned. Vincent blinked.

"Erm…uh…um…no reason really, I was just, uh…curious."

"Oh." Lucrecia returned to her art. She didn't notice Vincent's furtive glances at her as she worked.

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Vincent and Lucrecia walked out of class at 5:15 pm.

"Well, I'm going this way. Bye Vincent!" Lucrecia called as she walked away. Vincent returned her goodbye. He walked down the hall, thinking about her. As he turned the corner, he bumped into someone.

"Oh! Sorry," Vincent said automatically while the other person apologized. They both looked up. Vincent stared. It was Tifa! Tifa's eyes widened and she paled slightly. Her face hardened and she looked away, walking around Vincent. The latter made up his mind in a split second. "Wait, Tifa…" Tifa stopped. Vincent walked up to her tentatively. Tifa turned around, glaring at him.

"What do you want!" she spat. Vincent hesitated.

"Look, I just want to say…" He paused, squishing down his pride, which was protesting heatedly. "…I'm…sorry about what I did. I…I wanted to get revenge, but I think I went too far with what I did to you. So…I'd like to…apologize…" Tifa's glaring eyes softened as she looked at Vincent for a moment. She smiled slightly.

"I forgive you. I…sorry too. I shouldn't have tried to embarrass you that time. I guess that I was just sick of you guys picking on my friends and I all the time…but then, you've never really done anything. It was mostly Reno."

"It's all right," Vincent said. "So…we're neutral?"

"Yeah, neutral," Tifa agreed. She started to walk off. "Oh, by the way…can you say thanks to Elena for me? For standing against Reno, you know." Tifa left. Vincent walked towards the cafeteria to meet up with his friends. A heavy weight had lifted itself off of him, his guilt evaporating into the night.

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Elena waved wildly to Vincent when she saw him enter the cafeteria. She smiled at him as he sat down.

"So, what movie are we gonna watch tomorrow?" she asked him excitedly. Vincent paused…then answered.

"Whatever you want to watch." Elena giggled.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman, Vincent."

"Ugh, don't get all mushy on us," Reno said, gesturing to Rude and himself. "Just have a _nice, normal conversation_."

"Spoilsport," Elena muttered, sticking her tongue out at Reno. He blew a raspberry at her.

"So, what movie do you want to watch?" Vincent asked Elena. She shrugged.

"Dunno. I'm sure that you can't take romance, right?" Vincent shook his head furiously. "Alright then…mm…I don't want to watch anything bloody…"

"Aw, Elena, you're no fun," Reno groaned. "You know that us guys like to watch bloody stuff, Vincent included."

"I don't mind," Vincent said. Elena smirked at Reno.

"You see? That's what makes him such a great guy. If it were you, you'd probably drag me off to see some cold, bloody, blue murder movie. I'd never go out with anyone like you." She returned to her thoughts, unaware of the strained look that had flashed across Reno's face.

"Not that I'd go out with you," he muttered.

"So," Elena said. "Um…horror? Adventure? Fantasy? Erm…how about The Faceless Girl? Chocobo Dummy Night 3? A Pass Through the Times? He Murdered My Brother 2? Chaos?"

"Whatever you want Elena," Vincent said. Elena smiled.

"Ok then. I want to watch He Murdered My Brother 2. It's bound to be a good horror movie. He Murdered My Brother scared the crap out of me when I watched it."

"Vincent?" Rude asked suddenly. "Why were you talking to Tifa?" Reno and Elena looked up sharply.

"What? You were talking to Lockheart!" Reno asked.

"What for!" Elena questioned tensely.

"Whoa, whoa, I was just apologizing," Vincent told them, looking alarmed. "No need to get tense."

"Apologize? Why!" Reno demanded.

"For what I did to her that day," Vincent explained calmly, looking at Reno. "I went overboard."

"I'm glad you did," Elena said, smiling up at Vincent. "I don't like Tifa much, but she's a girl too." Rude didn't say anything, but he was secretly relieved.

"Oh, and Tifa told me to say thanks to you for standing up for her and her friends," Vincent told Elena. She nodded.

"Alright, so, when are we gonna go see the movie tomorrow?" the blonde asked.

"I'll pick you up and we can walk the Meteor Movie Stadium (MMS). So be ready to go at 7:30 pm," Vincent said.

"Ok," Elena replied.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going back to my dorm," Reno announced, standing up. "We'll save our nightly muggings for later."

"…what?" Vincent, Elena, and Rude said, staring at him.

"It was a joke, alright? A joke!" Reno sighed. "Anyway, Vince, Elena, see you guys tomorrow." Reno left, and Rude followed.

"Bye!" the latter called over his shoulder. Vincent and Elena looked at each other.

"I'm going back too," Elena said. "Bye Vincent! Don't be late!"

"When was I ever? Goodbye Elena," Vincent answered.

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Cloud was doodling on a piece of paper when the dorm door opened. Cloud continued doodling, not looking up. "Tifa told me that you apologized," he said, finally glancing up at Vincent.

"…yeah," Vincent replied, rummaging in his bag.

"Glad you did," Cloud commented casually. "It means that you still have a conscience." Vincent stiffened.

"I haven't thrown any insults at you today, Cloud," he said slowly. "I suggest that you keep your mouth shut."

"…sorry," Cloud said after a pause. He sighed. "It's just that…I just _hate_ Reno so much, for the way he treats my friends and I. I know that you and Elena haven't really said anything. Rude too. But, well, you guys are friends with him, and just continue letting him insult everyone…" Vincent glanced at him.

"You also insult us back. Even if Reno didn't do anything, you would still hate us for being _popular_."

"Yeah, well…" Cloud grumbled.

"Popularity isn't everything Cloud," Vincent said softly. "Goodnight."

* * *

…wow. Long. 21 pages of Microsoft Works Word Processor. Probably cause of the songs and stuff, but yeah. Haha, sorry if the supposedly "terrific" lyrics weren't terrific. I love writing song lyrics though, and I'm working on it. This is probably the only chapter (well, maybe one or two more) that'll have this many songs in it. Oh, wait, the concert chapters will have tons of songs jammed into them too. Lol. Next chapter: Chapter 4 - Dumped and Ditched. Tune in, and remember to **REVIEW**! Thanks! XD 


	4. Dumped and Ditched

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII. I _do_ own anything else that cannot be identified as belonging to FFVII, anything related to FFVII, or anything that's copyrighted (such as…I dunno, Coke). FFVII and anything related to it is copyrighted to their owners (Squaresoft, Sony), as is anything that's copyrighted already. Anything else (such as Ocs, the plot, and the lyrics to the songs, restaurants, and other things) is _copyrighted_ to _me_ (so no stealing). Etc., ect…

Fast update this time! Thanks to xXBrightEyesXx, Gaby, Mythrand, Kat, Any-more-cheese, and Jaded Crescent for reviewing! You guys have a super happy sokymo here.

Glad most people liked the lyrics. Ahh, typo in the last chapter! Thanks for pointing it out xXBrightEyesXx!

* * *

Chapter 4 - Dumped and Ditched

Tifa worked frantically on her new design. She had woke up two hours ago with a ton of ideas crammed into her head. Now, Tifa was putting them all down on a piece of paper. Aeris peered over Tifa's shoulder.

"Hm, nice. I like this one better than your previous one," she commented.

"Thanks," Tifa said as she finished drawing. "Yeah, I like this one better too. So, what are we doing today?" Aeris straightened.

"Not sure. I want to go swimming before the weather turns cold."

"So you want to go swimming today?" Tifa asked. Aeris nodded.

"Why not? It's a nice sunny day." She looked out the window.

"Ok. I like swimming too," Tifa agreed. "Are the others gonna come too?" Aeris picked up the phone and started dialing Cloud's number.

"Yup!" She waited for a few seconds. "Hi Cloud! Do you have anything important to do today?" Tifa giggled at Aeris's hopeful expression. "Good! Cause Tifa and I are gonna go swimming today. Wanna come?" Aeris paused as she listened to Cloud. "Oh, we'll come over to your dorm at around…um…we'll come by in ten minutes. It's 12:05 now. Ok, see you!" Aeris hung up.

"Wow Aeris, you're happy," Tifa observed. Aeris giggled.

"Hee hee, I can't help it. I love swimming. 'Kay, I'm gonna call Yuffie now." Aeris dialed Yuffie's number. Yuffie picked up the phone after two rings. "Hi Yuffie! Cloud, Tifa, and I are gonna go swimming today. Can you come? What? No! Why not?" Aeris frowned. "Oh, that sucks! Alright. Bye!"

"What's the matter? Why can't Yuffie come?" Tifa asked.

"She says that she has lots of homework, and she has detention at 2:00 pm cause she was late in art." Tifa also frowned.

"Oh, poor Yuffie." She sighed. So did Aeris.

"Well, we'd better get ready," the brunette said. She and Tifa pulled on their swimsuits. Tifa was wearing a black bikini while Aeris donned a more modest, red, two-piece swimsuit. Tifa pulled a tank top and mini-skirt over her bikini. Aeris put on a T-shirt that said "Boys are Stupid. Throw Rocks at Them." She also put on shorts and slipped her feet into high, beige, platform sandals. Tifa wore green flip-flops. They tied up their hair and gathered their bags. They collected their keys. Tifa glanced at the clock.

"Crap! It's already 12:15!" The girls hurried out the door and locked it. They ran towards the guys' dorm.

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"You're late," Cloud said, grinning at Aeris and Tifa.

"Oh, shut up," Tifa grumbled. "It's not like you're Mr. I'm-always-on-time."

"Is Yuffie coming?" Cloud asked.

"No," Aeris answered. "She said that she has homework and detention." Cloud sighed.

"Aw, poor Yuffs. Alright, lemme get my stuff." He went over to his bed and picked up a bag. Just then, Vincent walked out the door, not saying a word to anyone. Aeris and Tifa stared after him for a moment, then looked at Cloud as he locked the dorm door. They all headed out of the dorm and toward the huge outdoor university swimming pool.

"So we swim, eat, soak, swim, and soak," Aeris told the other two eagerly. "Ok?" They nodded. The trio arrived at the swimming pool. Many people were already in the gigantic pool, splashing about.

"Ugh, so many perverts," Tifa groaned. Cloud smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you and Aeris. Leave the brawling to me."

"No brawls Cloud," Aeris said, raising an eyebrow. "Guys. Seriously. What's with the fighting biz?"

"Girls wouldn't understand," Cloud replied as he took off his shirt and pants.

"Exactly," Tifa said, doing the same, as did Aeris. The latter stood at the deep end, which was about thirteen feet, getting ready to dive in. Suddenly, Cloud tackled her waist and they both fell into the pool. Cloud surfaced and pulled Aeris up. She was spluttering and spitting out water. Cloud spun her waist and she turned 360 degrees twice in the water, uncontrollably. Tifa stifled her laughter with difficulty.

"CLOUD!" Aeris yelled after she managed to stop.

"Yeah?" Cloud asked her flirtatiously.

"You…you…you…!"

"I what, sexy doll?"

"I'M NOT A SEXY DOLL YOU DUMB BLONDE!"

"Ouch, that hurts," Cloud said, wincing. Tifa jumped in next to Aeris. She smiled at Cloud.

"Serves you right," she told him. Cloud groaned.

"Aww, not you too, Tifa! You're my girlfriend!"

"And Aeris is my best friend. She's more important."

"Hey hey, girls against guys? Not fair," the blonde muttered.

"Let's play tag," Aeris decided suddenly. "Rock, paper, scissors." Tifa chose rock, Cloud chose rock, and Aeris chose paper. Then Tifa chose scissors and Cloud kept at rock.

"Crap!" Tifa yelled. Cloud and Aeris laughed.

"You're _it_, Tifa," Cloud drawled. "By the way, we get a ten second head start." Tifa cursed as Aeris and Cloud sped away from her. They separated. Then, Tifa started swimming madly after them. "I'LL GET YOU!" she yelled at Cloud. A look of alarm flashed across his face and he started swimming toward Aeris.

"Ahh! Not towards me!" she cried. Tifa swam as fast as she could, but Cloud was the better and faster swimmer. Aeris suddenly realized that Cloud was going to collide into her. "OH MY GOD, CLOUD, WATCH-!" Cloud swam headfirst into Aeris, at full speed, while she tried to get away. They toppled head over feet through the water. Cloud's hand groped wildly for anything to hold onto, and he found Aeris's wrist. Aeris was dragged under as Cloud pulled himself up. He took a gulp of air.

"Whoa! What-OW!" Aeris was kicking Cloud's leg furiously, trying to get him to let go of her. He did.

"Ugh! What were you trying to do, drown me!" Aeris demanded as she spat out mouthfuls of water. Cloud patted her back.

"I'm sorry Aeris. Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Um…yeah," Aeris replied. Why was Cloud looking at her like that?

"You should be more careful Cloud," Tifa said, swimming up next to them. She giggled as Cloud recoiled from her. "Don't worry," she told him. "I'm not gonna tag you." Cloud relaxed.

"Good," he said fervently. "Let's not play tag; it's too intense."

"Alright," Aeris agreed. "I wouldn't want you to accidentally drown me." Cloud flushed and laughed nervously. Tifa smiled.

"Come on, let's have a race."

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Vincent walked into Palmer's Art Supplies. He looked at his list. He needed to buy brushes, paint, special pencils, special erasers, special colored pencils, pastels, charcoal, and special pens. Lots of stuff. Vincent walked into the paints section and saw a familiar figure looking at the acrylic paints.

"Lucrecia?" The figure looked up. Her eyes widened.

"Vincent! Hi!" Vincent walked over to Lucrecia.

"Didn't fancy meeting you here," he said.

"Oh, well, I'm buying art supplies," the girl said.

"Same here," Vincent replied, nodding. "Are we going to start planning our project next week?"

"Yeah," Lucrecia answered. They picked out their art supplies and left the store at 12:52 pm.

"I'm hungry," Vincent said randomly. Lucrecia giggled.

"Guys are always hungry," she observed.

"Hey! Is that supposed to be a compliment or insult?"

"Um…comment," Lucrecia answered. Vincent smiled.

"Alright then. Um…want to come to lunch with me?" Lucrecia blinked, looking rather surprised.

"Oh…um…sure," she replied. Vincent looked pleased.

"Did you drive here?" Lucrecia shook her head.

"No, I walked." Vincent pulled her toward his car, which was a very cool looking, sleek, black, sports car-like vehicle.

"You like Le Palais Folkorique?" he asked Lucrecia. She nodded. They arrived at the restaurant quickly, for it wasn't far from the university and Palmer's Art Supplies. Le Palais Folklorique was a nice café that was never too crowded, yet was quite popular among the university students.

"What would you like to order, mister?" a young woman asked Vincent.

"Um…" Vincent looked at the menu. "I would like the Côte Levées et des frites with the Créme Glacée Vanille for dessert, please."

"Alright sir. What drink would you like?"

"A coke."

"Ok. What would you like to order, miss?" the waitress asked Lucrecia.

"Hm…I would like to have the La Poutine with the Salade Vert. Um…orange juice for a drink and the Créme Glacée Mangue for dessert, please."

"Ok. Thank you." The waitress left. Vincent and Lucrecia chatted about school as they waited for their orders. Then, their meals arrived.

"Whoa, that's a lot of fries!" Lucrecia exclaimed, staring at her poutine. Vincent dug into his spareribs and fries with relish.

"Well, I'll help you with it if you can't finish it," he said after swallowing his food. Lucrecia stared at him.

"Er…ok…" She blinked. "Scary appetite."

"Yeah," Vincent mumbled as he ate. "Don't talk; I'm eating."

"Ooook then." Lucrecia started eating.

"Hey," said Vincent, looking up. "Where are you going after lunch?"

"The library," Lucrecia replied. "To check out some books. You?"

"I'll come with you," Vincent. "I need something to read."

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Elena looked at the clock. It was 7:00 pm. She opened the closet and picked through her clothes. Elena finally chose a black, sparkly tank top that said, "Paws Off Girls. He's Mine." in pink lettering. She put on a white mini skirt and tall, black, glossy boots. She also wore large, silver hoop earrings. Elena dashed into the bathroom to put on makeup. Mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, blush, eye shadow, the works. Elena had just finished her makeup and was pulling on her coat when someone knocked on the door. Elena opened it. Vincent was standing there, smiling at her.

"Hello Elena," he said. Elena grinned.

"Hi Vincent!" She grabbed her purse and went out the door, locking it. Then, she and Vincent walked out of the building, towards the movie theater, the Meteor Movie Stadium. The MMS was filled with people, mainly couples. Elena waited as Vincent bought tickets for He Murdered My Brother 2. Vincent and Elena went into the building. They presented their tickets and were let into the movie room. Most of the seats were already filled up, but the pair found two good seats and sat down, with six minutes left to go for the movie. Then, the movie started.

Vincent watched the screen, though only half of his mind was on the actual movie. He was aware of Elena, who was latched onto his arm, occasionally gasping. Vincent was troubled. Elena was his girlfriend. She was pretty, of course. Nice too. But…well, Vincent didn't feel the same as he did before for her. Before, he would miss her, and would want to spend time with her. Now, however…Vincent merely felt for her as a friend would feel. He didn't have a…crush on her anymore. No. Ever since Vincent met Lucrecia, he started feeling different. Lucrecia aroused feelings inside Vincent that Elena hadn't. Elena was pretty, but Lucrecia was prettier. Elena was nice, but Lucrecia was nicer. Vincent had seen other guys look at Lucrecia strangely…the way Vincent looked at her. Three guys had even asked her out, but she had reclined, from what Vincent saw. Lucrecia filled Vincent's mind. He thought of her constantly, even occasionally dreaming about her at night. Vincent still liked Elena as a friend, but nothing more. He would take his chance with Lucrecia, no matter what, for Vincent was happiest when he was around her.

Vincent and Elena walked out of the MMS. Elena talked about the movie as they drove back to the university.

"That was even better than the first one! It was so scary; I think I might have nightmares for the next couple of days." She laughed. "I love that movie. It's probably the best horror movie I've ever seen. What about you, Vincent?"

"Oh, it was good," Vincent agreed absentmindedly. He parked the car and they got out, walking out of the parking lot into the cold, night air, in front of the dorms. Elena hugged Vincent.

"Thanks for taking me out today," she said. Vincent broke away.

"Elena," he said quietly. "I…have to talk to you."

"Well, we're talking right now," Elena said, half jokingly, but looking curious. Vincent's expression turned somber.

"I'm…sorry Elena," he said softly, "but I…don't feel the same way towards you as you do towards me anymore."

"…w-what?" Elena asked shakily, blinking. Vincent looked at her.

"I don't like you like that anymore," he said. Elena was shocked.

"Y-you mean…you're d-dumping me!"

"No…just that I don't think our relationship will work out anymore. I'm sorry…Elena. I really am."

"B-but…why!" Elena cried sadly. Vincent shook his head and looked away. He started walking.

"Please don't be sad," he said quietly.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" someone yelled suddenly. Reno came bursting out of the main dormitory building and sprinted toward Vincent. He confronted him with a furious expression on his face.

"Reno…?" Vincent looked bewilderedly at his friend.

"You _bastard_," Reno spat. "How _dare_ you dump Elena like that!"

"Reno, what are you doing!" Elena cried. "Why are you here?"

"Elena…" Reno looked at her, his expression softening. Then, he glared back at Vincent. "You &$/er! How _dare_ you treat Elena like that! Don't you know how much she likes you! How can you leave her like that!" Vincent stared at Reno.

"I…" Reno spoke before Vincent could say any more.

"You know what? We're not friends anymore. Don't talk to us like you do to your friends, don't hang out with us, and you're not part of the Turks anymore. Our friendship is over!" Elena gasped.

"Reno, don't-!"

"Stop Elena!" Reno turned toward Elena, looking anguished. "I can't watch Vincent treat you like that." Elena blinked at Reno through tears.

"Why?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Reno laughed bitterly.

"Why? Why! Cause I love you, idiot! Since you liked Vincent so much, I never interfered with you guys. But, to watch him dump the person I love like his…how can I?" Elena stared, speechless, at Reno. The latter turned back toward Vincent. "Get going. I never want to know you again." Vincent didn't respond to Reno, but he looked at Elena. The girl's eyes were swimming with tears, and she looked at him wretchedly, disbelievingly.

"…Vincent…" she whispered, pleadingly. Vincent turned away.

"I'm sorry Elena." He walked away, into the building, leaving his former friends behind.

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Vincent woke up the next morning at 9:54 am. He lay in bed, thinking about the events that had taken place last night. He didn't feel very sad, for it was Reno who wanted him to leave. Without a real, good reason. A real friend wouldn't do that. Even if Reno _did_ love Elena, he shouldn't have been so negatively affected by Vincent and Elena's breakup. It was Reno's problem. As for Elena…Vincent hoped that she wouldn't be too upset over the next few days.

"Hey, do you know what happened last night?" Cloud asked Vincent suddenly. He was pulling on his shirt. "I heard shouting." Vincent looked up at Cloud. His expression was unfathomable. "Well?" Cloud persisted.

"…" Vincent got up. He went to the closet, closed the door, and started dressing. Then, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. Cloud, who had given up on Vincent replying, was going out the door when Vincent came out. The blonde frowned at Vincent for a moment, then left.

Vincent picked up the phone and dialed a number. The phone rang three times before someone picked it up.

"Hello?" the person said.

"Hello Lucrecia," Vincent said. The other person paused.

"Vincent?" Lucrecia asked, recognizing the caller's deep, monotone voice.

"Yes," Vincent answered. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Oh, no, I woke up ten minutes ago," Lucrecia replied. "So, um…why'd you call? I thought that we were starting our project tomorrow."

"We are," Vincent said. "I wanted to ask you…do you have anything planned for today?" Lucrecia sounded curious as she answered.

"Nope. I have nothing to do for the whole day and I've finished all my homework. Why?"

"Because…" Vincent paused. "Do you want to go out today?"

"Huh?" Lucrecia sounded very surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, as in, a date. For today."

"A-a date…? Oh. Well…I…um…sure."

"Great," Vincent said. "Meet me at the main dorm building right away?"

"Ok," Lucrecia replied. "So…erm…see you."

"Bye." Vincent hung up, gathered up his coat, and left the room, locking the door.

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Cloud entered the cafeteria and spotted his friends talking earnestly. He walked over to them.

"Hi guys," Cloud said. Aeris, Tifa, and Yuffie looked up at him. They stopped talking.

"Hi Cloud," they all said. Cloud sat down and winked at Aeris.

"Hey babe," he said, smiling.

"Hi sexy," Aeris replied, smiling sweetly and winking back. She, Tifa, and Yuffie burst out laughing at Cloud's shocked face.

"What the-!" Cloud gaped at Aeris. "When did you start flirting back at me?" Aeris stifled her giggles with difficulty.

"I haven't," she replied. "I just did that to see your reaction."

"Oh," Cloud said. "Crap."

"Don't be too disappointed Cloud," Tifa told him, smiling.

"Yeah," Yuffie added. "We'll blackmail Aeris until she flirts with you." This time, Cloud, Yuffie, and Tifa laughed.

"Hey!" Aeris said indignantly. "Not fair!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cloud said, smirking. "Life's not fair, chick. OW!" Aeris kicked Cloud under the table.

"Serves you right," she said, smirking back at him.

"Hey Cloud," Tifa said suddenly. "Did Vincent seem…weird when he woke up?" Cloud blinked.

"Um…come to think of it, yeah, he did. I heard shouting outside last night, and when I asked Vincent if he knew what it was about, he didn't reply." Aeris, Yuffie, and Tifa exchanged secretive glances. "What?" Cloud asked.

"Well," Yuffie said slowly, "Elena came back yesterday at around 10:30 pm last night, crying."

"What!" Cloud exclaimed. "Why?"

"Poor girl," Tifa sighed. "Vincent had broken up with her."

"Yeah," Yuffie said. "She was a wreck yesterday. I could hardly understand her when she told me about it."

"She told you about it?" Cloud looked surprised.

"Yup," Yuffie said. "I asked her."

"And it seems like Reno and Vincent aren't friends anymore," Aeris said.

"Elena told me that Reno was furious with Vincent for breaking up with her. When Elena asked Reno why, Reno told her that it was cause he loved her," Yuffie said. "So, Reno's mad at Vincent for making Elena sad."

"That's uncalled for," Cloud commented, frowning. "I wonder why Vincent broke up with Elena?" The girls exchanged significant looks again.

"You aren't in our Sociology, so you won't know this, but we think we know why Vincent broke up with Elena," Tifa said.

"Yeah," Aeris said. "You know a girl called Lucrecia Crescent?" Cloud shook his head.

"Oh, well, she's in our Sociology," Yuffie told him. "Vincent sits behind her, and he's been giving her weird looks lately. He talks to her a lot, and they're working together for the project."

"So we think that Vincent likes her," Tifa concluded.

"So…Vincent dumped Elena for this Lucrecia?" Cloud asked.

"Yep." Aeris nodded. "He seems really happy when he's with Lucrecia."

"Wow." Cloud blinked. "Then…Vincent's not a Turk anymore?"

"Probably not," Yuffie said. "Come on. I'm hungry. Let's get food."

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Vincent watched Lucrecia walk down the stairs, toward him. He smiled at her. She smiled back tentatively.

"Hello Lucrecia," Vincent greeted.

"Hi Vincent," Lucrecia returned. Vincent noticed Lucrecia's uncomfortable expression.

"Is there anything wrong, Lucrecia?"

"No!" Lucrecia said, starting slightly. "Well…" She sighed at Vincent's skeptical look. "Don't you…have a girlfriend?" Vincent blinked at Lucrecia. He frowned slightly.

"Yes, I did. But I broke up with her yesterday."

"Yesterday!" Lucrecia stared at Vincent. "Is that how you treat your girlfriends? You dump them when you're done with them and get another one right away!"

"…no."

"Then why'd you break up with her?" Lucrecia demanded.

"Because I wanted to be with you," Vincent replied tersely. "Isn't it obvious?"

"…oh." Lucrecia blinked. "Oh. I'm sorry Vincent."

"That's all right," Vincent said, shrugging. "I suppose that I wasn't obvious enough." Lucrecia smiled.

"Well, maybe. Was I obvious?" Vincent paused.

"No," he answered.

"Then why'd you ask me out? How did you know if I liked you?"

"I decided to take my chances." Vincent grasped Lucrecia's hand and led her out the door. "Let's go get breakfast."

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Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Yuffie happily ate their breakfast. Cloud munched on buttered toast and fluffy scrambled eggs.

"Mmm, this is good," he mumbled through his food. "Hey Aeris, can I have a piece of pancake? How 'bout the one you're holding?" Aeris stared at the partly-bitten piece of pancake. on her fork.

"I've tasted it Cloud," she told him.

"I don't care," Cloud said, gulping. He reached over and grabbed Aeris's fork, sticking it into his mouth.

"Hey!" Aeris protested. "That's my fork!" Cloud handed it back to her. She looked at it. "Ew…"

"Come on, just wipe it then," Cloud said as he ate more eggs. Aeris took the fork gingerly and wiped it furiously on a napkin. She continued eating. Tifa ate her hash browns.

"These are really good too," she said.

"Mmcramyaveun?" Cloud asked. Tifa looked at him.

"What?" she asked as she ate the last hash brown. Cloud sighed.

"I asked, can I have one," he repeated, "but you've already eaten them all." Tifa blinked.

"Oh. Well. No can do, Cloud." She smiled cheerfully. Yuffie gulped down her porridge.

"This is also delicious," she commented. Cloud made a face.

"I can't believe that you're eating _porridge_ in the morning."

"Shows what you know," Yuffie said. "Wutainese porridge is really good. Not like the porridge they have here. I'm glad that there's a Wutainese store here." Aeris looked up.

"They, it's Vincent and Lucrecia!" she said in a hushed voice. The other there looked up.

"_That's_ Lucrecia? I've seen her before," Cloud said. Just then, Vincent said something, and Lucrecia burst out laughing. They went over to a store to buy breakfast.

"Yup. They're going out all right," Yuffie observed.

"That means that Vincent's not friends with the Turks anymore," Cloud said. "That's good. It'll make him more tolerable to live with." Tifa smiled slightly.

"He's not such a bad guy, really. Maybe we could be friends." Cloud choked on the last piece of food.

"_Friends_!" he spluttered. Aeris nodded.

"Yeah, maybe we can. Tifa's right."

"But…but…but…!"

"To think of it, the actual bully is Reno. I don't now about Rude, but he seems okay. Elena's a pretty nice person once you get to know her, and Vincent doesn't seem bad," Yuffie stated. Cloud scowled.

"I won't become friends with a jock," he said stoutly. Aeris sighed, shaking her head.

"You know what, Cloud? Sometimes you're so stubborn, you look like a no-nonsense mother chocobo."

"…_hey_!"

* * *

Ok, ok, before anybody who knows who to write French accuses me of anything, I need to say this: I know that saying (for example) "the La Poutine" doesn't make sense because it literally translates to "the the poutine", but Vincent and Lucrecia don't know that, do they? Anyway, "La Poutine" is the meal's name, so it wouldn't really make sense in English to say "I would like La Poutine". So, this chapter wasn't very eventful, but there was slight draaaaaaaaamaaaaaaa. Not a lot…but still. Everyone loves some good drama (as long as they're not in it). Next chapter: Chapter 5 - Welcome to the World. Please **REVIEW**! Thanks! 


	5. Welcome to the World

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VII. I _do_ own anything else that cannot be identified as belonging to FFVII, anything related to FFVII, or anything that's copyrighted (such as…I dunno, Coke). FFVII and anything related to it is copyrighted to their owners (Squaresoft, Sony), as is anything that's copyrighted already. Anything else (such as Ocs, the plot, and the lyrics to the songs, restaurants, and other things) is _copyrighted_ to _me_ (so no stealing). Etc., ect…

Yay, an update! Haha. Anyways, first, I must say this: 34 REVIEWS SO FAR! My happiness has gone over the boundaries and disrupted my sanity. So, I must blame all my wonderful readers and reviewers for causing my loss of sanity. Thanks _very much_ to LauraLaurent, Charan-Amaya, Lord Makura, whatevergirl, Gaby, Kat, …, Teen Strife, Jaded Crescent, Mythrand, and Kimberly for reviewing last chapter! You guys are the best people in the world.

ANYHOW, er, where was I? Oh yes, a reply to dear "…" because I couldn't contact you in anyway to reply to your review:

Heheheh, yes, it was rather fast. But then, Vincent dumped Elena (nah, he didn't dump, he, ah, "broke up nicely") because he wanted to be with Lucrecia, so yeah. Poor Elena…I'm glad you think that the story's interesting, and don't worry about me not updating, for this story is my number one priority! For fanfictions, that is. XD

FFVII AC WAS AWESOME! Ok, the boring author notes are over. Continue with the story now, please.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Welcome to the World

"So," Professor Dennis said to the class on Monday morning, "I expect you all to work diligently these two hours, for we only have classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You all may talk and move about, but don't stray from the subject of Sociology."

Lucrecia turned around in her seat. "So, what's our play going to be about?" she asked.

"Hm…well, I was thinking that it should be thirty minutes long, like a TV show," Vincent replied. Lucrecia blinked.

"Yeah, I guess so. That's long, though…but what is it going to be about?" she asked again.

"I've been thinking…maybe our play can be on a popular group picking on a…loner. I can act the part of the bully well. All I have to do is copy Reno." Vincent laughed humorlessly.

"Hm…that's a good idea," Lucrecia said. "Who am I going to be? The loner?" Vincent frowned.

"I don't know…how about we write out the script first? Then we can decide on who's going to be who and figure out roles later." Lucrecia nodded.

"Alright," she agreed. "Let's make a diagram, then start the script."

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Reno scowled as he walked into the classroom with Elena and Rude. He sat down in his seat, glaring at Vincent.

"Oh, great, we have to sit near Valentine," he said loudly. Elena looked uncomfortable, and Rude tried to look innocent. "Valentine is such a loser, always trying to look cool," Reno continued. "In reality, he's a sniveling little-"

"Reno…" Vincent turned toward the redhead, looking quite indifferent. "Why don't you…_shut up_?"

"Alright! Go Vincent!" Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Yuffie cheered quietly.

"What? You talking to me!" Reno asked Vincent viciously.

"Seeing as you are the only person in front of me that I can talk to now, I think I am. Of course, your behavior is quite normal for you. I never knew you as the type of person to be smart enough to know when someone's addressing you face to face," Vincent returned calmly. Reno's face turned red with rage. He sprang up.

"YOU BAST-!"

"Strike one, Mr. Terrace," Professor Tseng said as he walked over to Reno. "No fighting or yelling in the classroom. Please take your seat." The whole class watched Reno sit down slowly, quivering with embarrassment and anger.

"Oh no…" Elena groaned as she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, why do you have to cause trouble, Reno?"

"Today, class," the teacher addressed the class, "you will start a project." Everyone groaned. "You will all write a book that will be at least twelve chapters long, sixteen pages per chapter. The requirements are on the handout." Professor Tseng passed out the sheets. The stories were required to be typed out in Times New Roman, 11 point size font. The book was to be the size of an ordinary, paperback novel, which was 7.5 by 5.25 inches (13.5 by 19 centimeters). The projects had to look like actual books, for they were going to be bound and the covers printed. The books could be about anything, but they were forbidden to have inappropriate things, such as swear words and sex. The book was required to have at least a full-page illustration for each chapter. The cover-art and illustrations could be done by someone else as long as credit was given. The projects would be marked on proper grammar structure, spelling, punctuation, story structure, correct usage of words, how interesting the book is, and on writing skills. The whole project was out of 300 points, so it was pretty important.

"Ugh, I hate writing stories," Yuffie moaned after the teacher gave the class permission to discuss their topics. "I never did like reading." Tifa smiled.

"Same here. I never really liked reading either."

"How can you guys not like reading?" Aeris asked them incredulously. "Reading's awesome!"

"Yeah," Cloud agreed. "Reading's cool." Yuffie rolled her eyes. She sighed.

"Ugh, the words. Seriously, my head spins when I read."

"I start daydreaming when I read," Tifa confessed.

"Aw Tifa, who do you daydream about?" Aeris teased. Tifa smiled.

"Mmm…Vincent."

"WHAT!" Cloud yelped. Tifa giggled. "You're not…serious?"

"Of course not!" Tifa exclaimed between giggles. "I only said that to annoy you. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Is that saying that you _do_ daydream about Vincent?" Aeris smirked.

"What! I-" Tifa broke off when she realized that Vincent was looking at her. "Uh…" Cloud, Aeris, and Yuffie turned in their seats. Aeris started giggling at the sight of Tifa's red, mortified face. Vincent continued staring weirdly at them, especially at Tifa. He raised an eyebrow.

"You…daydream about me?" Cloud and Yuffie also started laughing at Tifa, who was looking more embarrassed than ever.

"No! It was a joke!" Tifa said frantically. "Of course I don't daydream about you!" Vincent looked relieved.

"Ok. That's good." He returned to his work.

"Guys, stop laughing!" Tifa told her friends, looking annoyed.

"You should've seen the look on your face, Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed, still snickering. Tifa narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, so who do you daydream about? Aeris?" Cloud suddenly stopped laughing. He looked at Tifa.

"What! No, why!"

"Um…" Tifa blinked in confusion at Cloud's sudden change of mood. "Well…you're always flirting with her." Aeris and Yuffie were now watching them curiously.

"You know that the flirting's just joking around!" Cloud said, almost panicking.

"Whoa, whoa, I know. I'm not accusing you of anything; keep your hat on." Cloud calmed down. "Anyways," Tifa continued. "Why are you so alarmed?"

"I'm not," Cloud mumbled. Tifa gave him a weird look, but dropped the subject.

"So, whacha guys gonna write about?" Yuffie asked.

"A love story," Aeris replied.

"Fighting," Cloud said.

"Um…I think I'll make a love story too," Tifa said.

"Oh. I'm going to write a story about a thief, a Great Materia Hunter, called Yuffie!" Yuffie declared.

"Putting yourself as the great, main character into your story, huh?" Cloud rolled his eyes.

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Vincent walked into the music classroom. He saw Rufus waving at him. Vincent walked over and sat down.

"Hey Vince," Rufus said. "Seems that Reno and you are enemies now, eh?" Vincent shrugged.

"I suppose that you could put it that way. I couldn't care less."

"Yeah. Oh look, here comes Rude." Rude walked over and sat down. There was an awkward pause.

"Hi Vincent, Rufus," he said softly.

"Hey Rude," Rufus said.

"Hello Rude," Vincent returned neutrally. There was another pause. Rude hesitated, then spoke.

"You know Vincent, Reno's the only one mad at you. Although you don't hang out with us anymore, Elena and I are still your friends. The bad feelings are only between you and Reno."

"Elena?" Vincent asked, frowning as he turned to look at Rude. "Elena wants to be friends?"

"Yeah," Rude answered. "Although she's sad about the breakup, she still wants to be friends."

"…oh." Vincent's frowned disappeared.

"I think Reno was stupid to get mad at you like that," Rude confessed. Rufus smiled.

"I'd say that he overreacted a bit, but you can't blame a guy for being overprotective of the girl he loves," He remarked. "Anyway Vince, I heard that you were going out with a Lucrecia girl."

"How did you hear?" Vincent asked, looking surprised.

"Oh, there were rumors," Rude said. "I heard them too."

"But…from who?"

"People who've seen you two together. Nathan Josey in our literature told me that you two are working together for the sociology project," Rufus remarked. Vincent nodded.

"Word gets around fast," he commented.

"Alright!" Professor Shimiro said suddenly, and loudly. "Who wants to sing?" Everybody fell silent.

"Right now?" someone asked incredulously.

"Yup," the teacher said, nodding. "Any volunteers?" No one raised their hand. "No? Well, I'm going to assign you all the same presentation as last week. New song."

"Oh no!" Rufus groaned.

"I also have a little project for everyone," the professor continued. She smiled. "But I won't say anything about it now. It's to be given tomorrow." Everyone grumbled.

"First a project in sociology, then literature, and now this class!" someone complained. Professor Shimiro smiled.

"That's university, I'm afraid. Don't worry, music is always fun," she said. "Today, you can work on your presentations."

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"So many projects," Bernette groaned. "Oh." She looked up. "Hey, Aeris? I heard that Vincent broke up with Elena."

"Yeah, he did," Aeris said. "Don't get any ideas though; he broke up with Elena for another girl, so he already has another girlfriend." Bernette looked disappointed.

"Oh." Aeris was struck by a sudden thought.

"Oh my…Bernette?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…last time, when you told me that you had a crush on someone…it wasn't _Vincent_, was it?" Bernette blinked.

"Oh, no," she replied. "Much as I like Vincent, he'll never notice me, so I've given up." Aeris looked relieved.

"Ok," she said. "Good. Cause he's pretty into his new girlfriend." Bernette giggled.

"So, Aeris…who do _you_ like?" Aeris flushed, and Cloud suddenly popped into her mind. Aeris panicked and wiped away the thought.

"Um, nobody," she answered. Bernette looked disappointed.

"Oh, come on, somebody?" Aeris shook her head.

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Vincent entered the cafeteria after Art, at 5:20 pm. Lucrecia had went back to her dorm, so Vincent was alone. There was nobody in the cafeteria that he could recognize. Vincent ordered a meal and sat down at one of the many empty tables to wait. He propped his feet on the table and closed his eyes, leaning back on his chair with his hands behind his head.

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"Oh, look, there's Vincent," Aeris said as the group went into the cafeteria. It was pretty empty, except for a few people lingering around.

"Let's go talk to him!" Yuffie said enthusiastically.

"Still objecting Cloud?" Tifa asked the blonde, looking at him. Cloud shrugged.

"Well, I would've been objecting before literature, but the way Vincent flattened Reno changed my mind."

"Well, let's go then," Aeris said, and they walked over to the teen, sitting alone at his table.

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"You really shouldn't put your feet on the table. It's bad you know," someone said to Vincent's right. Vincent's eyes snapped open and he straightened, turning around, feet still on the table. Cloud was grinning at him, Yuffie was standing next to Cloud, smirking at Vincent. Aeris and Tifa were standing around the table, smiling.

"…" Vincent stared at the group.

"It's very unsanitary to put your feet on the table," Aeris added. It took Vincent half a second to take everything in.

"Oh…sorry, Reno used to…do that. I kind of picked up the habit," he apologized hesitantly, taking his feet off the table. Cloud, Aeris, Yuffie, and Tifa sat down around Vincent. The latter stared at them all, blinking slowly.

"So, waiting for your dinner?" Yuffie asked. Vincent nodded, still staring at them. Cloud cleared his throat.

"Well…lots of homework?" he questioned. Vincent nodded again, now raising an eyebrow.

"Excuse my asking, but, I thought that you all hated me…?" The others looked at each other.

"Any enemy of Reno's is our friend," Cloud proclaimed.

"…really," Vincent said, sounding slightly sarcastic.

"Yeah," Tifa said. "And you're not such a bad guy. Reno's the actual one we hate." Vincent blinked.

"If you say so," he said, shrugging.

"So, what are you and Lucrecia doing fro the project?" Aeris asked.

"A play," Vincent replied. "You guys?"

"Nathan and I are going to do a song," Aeris said.

"A puppet show," Cloud answered, looking at Aeris as though he was jealous.

"Cody and I are doing a sort of game," Tifa explained. "You have to roll dices and draw cards to answer questions. Depending on your answers, you'll end up as certain stereotypes in certain situations."

"Cool!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Me and Sebastian are doing a kind of humorous documentary."

"Sounds interesting," Vincent said, nodding.

"What's your play going to be about?" Tifa asked him.

"Uh…this popular group picking on a loner," Vincent answered.

"More details?" Yuffie prompted.

"Don't have any. Lucrecia and I haven't planned it out that much."

"Will you guys be needing help?" Aeris questioned, eyes twinkling.

"…"Vincent stared at her. "I…suppose so."

"Great! We'll help you," Tifa told him.

"W-wh-what!" Cloud exclaimed. "Wh-ow!" Aeris had elbowed Cloud in the ribs. "Uh, I mean…cool."

"Yeah!" Yuffie agreed. "I love acting; it's so cool."

"Well…um…thank you," Vincent said, looking rather bewildered.

"No problem," Cloud said airily.

"Look, _they're_ coming," Yuffie hissed suddenly. Everybody looked around. Reno, Elena, and Rude were making their way toward Cloud, Vincent, Yuffie, Aeris, and Tifa. Reno stopped in front of Vincent, sneering.

"My my my, you've sunk so low as to hang out with Strife the loser and the pimp. Without us, you're nothing." Vincent remained silent. Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and Aeris looked outraged. Elena was close to tears, and Rude had narrowed his eyes at Reno's back. Tifa spoke up angrily.

"Hey you, blockhead, listen up. _We_ came to Vincent. I can't really believe how Vincent would've considered such a low piece of dirt his friend. _You're_ the loser Terrace, not us. You'd be nothing without your friends to back you up. You depend on them, just as you depended on Vincent. Look, your little group isn't even as popular as it was before, when Vincent was in it." Reno looked absolutely furious.

"Shut the hell up you b#$! You and your maggot friends will always be sh&$, at the bottom of the food chain. Always! You're all $/#&ers who suck like sh&$!" he snapped. Vincent suddenly stood up.

"Elena," he said, looking directly at the blond girl.

"W-wh-yes?" she asked, startled.

"Are you going out with Reno now?" Vincent questioned.

"Um…no," Elena said, looking confused.

"Where are you going with this, Valentine!" Reno spat. Vincent straightened up to his full six feet. He stood a good five inches taller than Reno, who was as tall as Cloud.

"You know what, Terrace? I feel sorry for you. You're such a sore loser that the girl you love won't even go out with you. How sad." Elena gasped. Rude looked shocked. Reno's eyes flashed with wild rage.

"YOU $#&/ER!" Reno threw a punch at Vincent. Vincent, who was undoubtedly much stronger than he looked, blocked it.

"I don't want to fight, Reno," he said calmly. Reno completely ignored this and continued punching. Vincent dodged sideways and hit Reno's left eye. Reno kicked at Vincent, but the latter dodged again and aimed a punch at Reno's face. Reno got out of the way just in time and managed to hit Vincent's jaw. Vincent punched Reno hard in the nose. It started bleeding.

"REALLY!" Everybody turned around, including Vincent and Reno. Professor Dennis was striding towards them. She had evidently came to the cafeteria to buy dinner. Now, the sociology teacher stood in front of the two teens, glaring. "Fighting! Right here, in the cafeteria! What are you two, nuts!" Reno had a swollen, purple eye and a bloody nose. Vincent's right hand was covered in bluish-black splotches and his jaw was heavily bruised. A bit of blood trickled out of his mouth and down his chin. Vincent wiped it away with the sleeve of the large, black overcoat he was wearing. Professor Dennis continued to glare at them. "I expected more out of you," she said furiously. "You both were acting like stupid, immature _idiots_!" Reno and Vincent said nothing. "You two will receive detentions," the professor said. "You both will report to me at 5:30 pm tomorrow." She walked away. Reno, still holding his bloody nose, left, with Elena and Rude following.

"Come on," Cloud said quietly. "Let's go back to Vincent's and my dorm."

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Cloud and Yuffie sat on Cloud's bed, eating dinner while Tifa and Aeris bandaged Vincent's hand up.

"You sure pack a punch, Vincent," Cloud remarked. "Reno's eye was all purple and the size of a tennis ball."

"You sure do," Tifa told Vincent grimly. "Your hand's in bad shape from punching him."

"I'll heal," Vincent said quietly, then winced.

"Don't talk," Aeris said to him. "Reno hits really hard too. Your jaw's almost as bad as your hand."

"Go brush your teeth," Tifa said. Vincent blinked.

"Why?" he asked, then winced again.

"I said not to talk!" Aeris chided sternly. "Just do it." Vincent got up and went into the bathroom.

"His jaw must hurt like hell," Yuffie commented. "It was all bluish-green. How are you guys gonna bandage that up?" Aeris and Tifa looked at each other.

"You'll see," Tifa said. "Vincent's not going to like it, though. Don't talk to him when he comes out."

"Reno's gonna look like a mess tomorrow," Cloud crowed.

"No doubt about that," Aeris replied, smiling slightly. Just then, Vincent came out of the bathroom.

"Um, Vincent? Aeris and I are going to bandage your jaw up now," Tifa told him. Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"How are you going to do that?" he asked, trying not to move his jaw. Aeris glared.

"Don't. Talk!" she snapped. Vincent recoiled and shut up.

"Sit down," Tifa instructed. She put medicine on the colored blotches which covered Vincent's jaw and extended to the lower part of the right side of his face.

"Now," Aeris said, holding up a roll of bandages. Vincent realized what they were going to do in a split second. A look of alarm spread over his face as he tried to get away.

"No!" he shouted, then cringed in pain. Tifa took this chance to grab Vincent's head while Cloud pinned down his arms. Aeris wound the bandages around Vincent's head, over his jaw and mouth, stopping right below his nose. She glued the ends together at the back as Yuffie watched. Cloud and Tifa released Vincent, who sat up and glared at them, plus Aeris.

"Sorry Vince. Had to do it," Cloud said, shrugging. He returned to his dinner.

"Heehee, now Vinnie's really 'rendered speechless'," Yuffie giggled. A muffled sound came out of Vincent as he tried to speak, but couldn't. Yuffie grinned. "What was that, Vinnie?" Vincent wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Yuffie. She read it out loud. "Don't call me Vinnie." Yuffie continued grinning cheekily. "Sure thing, Vinnie." Vincent stood up, still glaring. "You might've looked scary, Vinnie, if your mouth wasn't all wrapped up like that," Yuffie drawled.

"Yuffie, stop teasing the poor boy," Aeris said. She and Tifa began to eat their dinner. Vincent's left hand started to go up, behind his head, but Tifa looked up.

"Don't you dare touch the bandages!" she said fiercely. "Or I'll tie your hands up and you'll have to sleep like that all night!"

"Better listen to Tifa, Vince," Cloud told him. "She's serious." Vincent sighed through his nose, and went to bed.

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A loud knocking woke Vincent and Cloud up at 9:00 am the next morning. Cloud got up groggily and opened the door. Tifa and Aeris smiled at him, fully dressed and carrying their backpacks. "Hi," they both said at once. Cloud stared.

"Um…hi. Why are you guys here, so early in the morning?"

"We need to change Vincent's bandages," Tifa said. The girls went into the room. Vincent was sitting up and looking at them warily.

"We need to change your bandages," Aeris told him. Vincent's eyes widened. "Yes, you have to go like this class," Aeris said calmly. Vincent began to bolt out of bed, but stopped and gave in, sighing silently.

"That's a good boy," Tifa said, smiling. She took the bandages off. Vincent's jaw didn't look as bruised anymore. "Brush your teeth first. Then change into your clothes and eat breakfast."

"We brought buttered toast for both of you," Aeris said. "We already ate." The boys brushed, changed, and ate.

"Hurry," Cloud told the girls. "It's already 9:40." Aeris and Tifa quickly applied the medicine to Vincent's bruised jaw and bandaged it. By the time the group went out, it was 9:55. They entered the literature classroom. The friends spotted Reno, who was as heavily bandaged as Vincent was. His nose and left eye were both covered with bandages. Cloud and Vincent went up to Professor Tseng.

"Um, Vincent won't be able to talk today," Cloud told the teacher.

"I can see," Professor Tseng said dryly. "Fight?" Vincent nodded slowly, looking rather embarrassed. "Hm. With Mr. Terrace there. Fine." Cloud and Vincent sat down in their seats.

"…um…Vincent? Are you…alright?" Elena asked timidly. Vincent nodded. Reno scowled and looked away. Rude fidgeted.

* * *

Alright! Finished! Wheeeee! Hope you guys liked this chapter. It wasn't that eventful, but hey, it's important, right? We're getting there! Just ten more chapters until the plot actually starts to fold out. Heheheh…_just_ ten more chapters? Whew. Well, I promise you guys, the ten chapters won't be full of junk and pointless side stories. Only one or two. Yay, I'm currently writing chapter ten! Please **REVIEW**! I love to read your comments. Tune in for the next chapter: Chapter 6 - Act It. 


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